Madness
by Tsukiko-Chama
Summary: Marie Mjolnir is new in town. Stein is an experimental doctor. When she falls for the insane and mad man, she discovers that his seven experements are actually just troubled teens who long for help. But can she help them before it's too late for her?
1. New in Town

Chapter 1: New in Town

A/N: I thought of this awhile back, and finally got around to writing it. It's and AU story, because I want to be different and not follow the storyline like in another story of mine. It's rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Marie stepped out of her hotel room, locking the door behind her. She took in a breath as she stepped onto the second floor balcony. Death City. She had heard about this place while growing up and now she was finally here. She didn't have an apartment yet, but she had gotten a job at a café and was saving up. The wind blew her long, blonde hair out of her face and she smiled. She was happy to be here. The city was so beautiful as far as she could see, considering that she could only use one of her eyes. She had lost the other so long ago. She ran her fingers over the silky black eye patch before turning towards the stairs. Today was her first day of work and she didn't want to be late.

…...

"Hello," The blonde smiled at her customer, "And what can I get for you today, sir?"

She hadn't ever seen anyone like him before in her life. He wore a stitched up white lab coat, stitched black t-shirt, and black pants. He even had stitches going across one side of his face, but that wasn't the strangest thing. He had a screw that went all the way through his head. Marie wondered if it turned or not. And how it had gotten there in the first place? What was with all of the stitches?

"I'd just like a cup of coffee please," His voice was smooth and a little deep, "Black."

Marie was too lost in his olive-gold eyes to hear him.

The man reached up and brushed some of his silver hair from his eyes, "Um…Ms." he glanced down at her nametag, "Marie?"

Her light brown eye widened and a small blush immediately hit her face. She had just been starring at this stranger, "I-I'm so sorry! What did you need?"

The man smiled as if he understood, "Just a black coffee would be nice."

"Okay," She smiled and walked over to get a cup, "That'll be two dollars. Do you need anything with it? Cream? Sugar?"

"No," He said, setting the money on the counter, "Just the coffee."

Marie poured the coffee into the cup and sat it on the counter in front of him. He gave her a mischievous smile and slid the cup from her hand, letting his fingers run over her own. Her blush went a little darker and she pulled her hand away and placed the money into the register.

"MARIE!" Her boss called from the kitchen, "YOU CAN GO ON BREAK!"

"Right," Marie smiled and slid her apron off before placing it on the hook and walking out from behind the counter with a small cup of coffee in hand. She crossed the front of the café and sat down at one table in the corner of the room. She looked up to see the stitched stranger only a few tables over. He sipped his drink and was reading a thick gray book, occasionally slipping Marie a sly glance. She'd just blush and look down when he did this. The next time she looked up, he was sitting across from her at the table. She felt as if she were going to jump out of her skin.

"So," He said, setting his book down, "How long have you lived here in Death City? You seem new. Probably because I don't know you."

Marie instantly felt her face go red. No one had ever been so persistent of her before. The thing was, she kind of liked it, "Um, about a week," she smiled, "I haven't even got an official place to stay at yet. I'm just in Black Death Hotel right now."

"Oh," His hand crept over towards hers, "Well, I guess that explains why I haven't seen you before."

Marie automatically wondered why she had told him that information without even realizing it. It was like his eyes just made her tell him. Those beautiful eyes, "Well, yeah. What do you do?"

His hand snaked it's way even closer, "I'm sorry? What do you mean by that, dear?"

"What do you do for work?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh," his eyes had a glint of insanity that went undetected by Marie, "I guess you could say that I'm a doctor," A smirk grew wide on his stitched, pale face, "An experimental one."

"An Experimental Doctor? I've never met one before," She leaned forward on her elbows, "How many patients have you treated?"

He sat his cup of coffee down, "I have seven patients in my care right now, though I'm not sure if one of them will make it," his tone was almost bored.

"Oh my gosh!" Marie cried, setting her cup down on the table, "I hope that they'll be alright!"

"I hope so as well," The man seemed to be spacing out, "He has several injuries in his torso and chest, plus the one on his neck. I'm not too sure that he's going to make it."

Marie brushed a stray blonde hair from her face with her slim fingers, "Well," she leaned closer to the man, "Will you tell your patient that he'll be in my prayers?"

He smiled, and ran his fingers across her hand before picking it up and giving it a light squeeze, "Of course." A blush lit onto Marie's face, "Hey, Marie?"

"Y-yeah?" She asked, the blush growing deeper.

"I was wondering," He took a napkin and began to jot down something on it with a pen, "Would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?" Marie's eyes widened, " I know, it seems sudden, but there's just something about you that I can't place. Something," his eyelids drooped a bit, luring her in further, "Intriguing."

"Um, well," He slid the napkin into her hands, "I guess…that we could…"

He smiled, "Great. My number is in there. Call me whenever you want me to come pick you up." He stood up from the table, "Goodbye," a small smirk played onto his face, "Ms. Marie."

"W-Wait!" Marie sprang up and grabbed the man by the sleeve, "I don't know your name!"

The man smiled, "Stein, Franken Stein," he shook her hand, "But just Stein is what I prefer." With that, the man left the shop with the napkin in the blonde's hand.

…...

Stein walked home with his hands in his pockets. The rain stuck his hair to his forehead and neck. He didn't seem to mind though. Rain was one of the few things that the Doctor didn't mind.

Her name was Marie Mjolnir. She was pretty. She seemed different. She seemed so _alive. _So unlike him in that way.

She could also be one of his grandest experiments ever to be accomplished.

She seemed like the perfect subject. Perfect body structure. Slim, curvy and strong. The only problem may be that missing eyes of hers. But that could be worked around. It could be replaced.

Or he could just remove the other one.

He liked the thought of that. All he needed was a spoon. A spoon could take out an eye if one had excellent aim. Stein did. Of course there were other ways to do it. He could simply hack it out with a scalpel. Or Pull it out with chopsticks. Even Liz's blue plastic hair bush would do. He could use the bristles. Each way, she would feel it. Her remaining eye being ripped out from it socket as the optic nerve was severed and she became forever blinded in this life. It would be sheer pain. Of course he wouldn't use pain killers. Or anesthetic. He lived and breathed for the pain of others. He new that it was wrong. But it made his heart pound. Sent a rush through his veins. The way with the spoon seemed like child's play compared to the others.

He had to gain her trust first. That's what the date was for. He would get to know her. Make her trust him. A little love. Make her feel safe. That he could do.

Just as he had taken the others before. They were young. He adopted them. Lured them in with his false charm. He had gotten Liz and Patty in California when Patty was six and Liz was nine. He had gotten Maka and Soul from an abandoned house a few miles from the city when they were both four. He picked up Chrona from and adoption center right here in Death City. Kid had shown up as a baby on his doorstep. Tsubaki had been his maid for a while. Then she got too close, and became one of them as well.

But Marie? Marie was different. He couldn't just take her. He had to let her in. Let her do things to him. Let her hold his cold heart in her own hands. Stein knew nothing of love. Not true love. He knew it only falsely. So could he do this? Could he let this young woman love him with all her being and then turn around and cut her open just to see what was inside? He had to. He had to. This madness inside of him was becoming more ravenous with each passing night. Each second. It got worse and worse.

Stein turned towards the front entrance of his laboratory. The building had been his for as long as he could remember. It was multiple shades of gray and stitched up with giant black stitches. It would probably only ever be called home by him. All of the neighbors had even moved away. They didn't like being around him. And Stein didn't blame them.

He pushed open the door with his pale hand. He stepped into the dark and still hallway before silently shutting the door behind him. A girl with long raven hair and deep blue eyes stepped into view. She was tall with scarred pale skin. She wore a simple white gown that fit loosely on her once well curved body. She gave the doctor a false smile before stepping closer and sliding off his white coat with tentative fingers and placing a dry lab coat onto his shoulders.

"Thank you, Tsubaki," the doctor said in a voice filled with mock kindness. The mock kindness of which he had been using for years, "Do you know where Maka might be?"

"She's with Soul," Tsubaki told him simply in as little words as possible. They weren't to speak unless spoken to. That is, unless they wanted a slap in the face. Tsubaki was eighteen now. She had been in this hell of a place for three years. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like all of this time for the others who had been here for so much longer than her.

Stein grit his teeth together. His lips pressed together in a tight frown before he walked down the hall with heavy heels. He turned at the last door and pushed it open in frustration, causing it to slam into the wall.

Maka felt her body jolt in surprise as the door crashed open. Her faded green eyes flew open and a small strand of her dirty mouse brown hair fell into her face. She bit her lower lip as she felt Stein's hard grip on her shoulder through her thing hospital gown.

"Maka," His voice was a bitter growl, "What are you doing in here?"

She felt tears welling in the corner of her eyes as his grip on her tightened to the point of pain. Her teeth sunk further into her lower lip as she glanced up at Soul, who lay unconscious on the table. A large slash went deeply across his chest, red with the fresh reopening of it. Messy black hastily stitched stitches wove across the wound. His chest barely rose and fell as he kept breathing.

"Answer me, Maka," Stein said, spinning her to face him. His breath reeked of cigarettes and black coffee.

The small girl remained silent.

"How many times have I told you," he clutched a wad of her matted hair in his hand and picked her up, dragging her across the room, away from he half-brother. She screamed and flailed as Stein slammed her hard into the far wall. She hit the floor with a soft thud. Dull pains raging through her body. He griped her throat and pulled her head up to face him, "TO DO AS I SAY?"

His voice edged in anger as he wrapped his fingers tight around the small girl's neck, choking her. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. Stein dropped her to the floor, allowing her catch her breath before slapping her hard across the face. She let out a small cry as he left her on the floor.

"Next time," he looked at her over his shoulder, "You are going to stay out of here and do as I say. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, Doctor Stein," The small girl choked out before the man walked out the door.

She bit her tongue to hold in words of anger. She hated him so much. After all he had done to them, he was no where near stopping. And Soul. Soul was dying. She let out a strangled throaty sob before curling up on the ground near the door where Stein had dropped her.

A/N: That would be the first chapter of Madness. I hope that all of you enjoyed. It is a challenge to write, because I don't normally do this kind of stuff, but it popped into my head, so I decided to work at it. Please Review. This story will not update as often as my others because my brain works slowly with this kind of thing, but I will update when I can. I hope that you will continue to read.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	2. Tremble

_Chapter 2: Tremble_

_A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things._

_Marie walked past the wall mirror again, a fretful look on her face. She wore a simple black dress with thin straps that flowed to the floor with two even slits running up the sides. A small black purse rested on her shoulder. Her wavy blonde hair had been pulled back with a small silver pin. Her eye patch covered her bad eye. She looked beautiful, or at least she thought so. She had no idea what Stein would think._

_Speaking of Stein, just where was he?_

_She stood in the lobby of the restaurant, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her pointed heels making no noise as she did so. Looking at her reflection with a worried eye. He was running awfully late, wasn't he?_

_Maybe she was being stood up._

_It wouldn't have been the first time. It had happened to her before, with just about every other boyfriend that she had had at one time back home. It had broken her heart each time. She just couldn't find a boyfriend willing to be her husband, could she? It was hopeless after all._

_But she didn't want to think that Stein would be one of those people that would stand her up. After all, he had seemed so persistent of her before. Something seemed different about this man. He seemed like he was missing something. Like he needed something. Needed her. Possibly more than she needed him._

_She needed him?_

"_Um, excuse me? Miss?" A kindly voice called from behind her, "Are you ready to be seated?"_

"_Oh!" Marie spun on her sharp heels to face the young waiter. He couldn't have been more than nineteen years old. His close cropped sandy hair, sharp green eyes, and perfect tan were all too youthful, "Not yet. Just a few more moments. I'm sure he's nearly here."_

"_Ma'am, you've been waiting for half an hour. Are you sure he is coming?" The young man asked, not trying to sound mean at all._

_She sighed and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."_

"_If you don't mind my asking," The young man smiled, "Who is it your seeing?"_

"_My Boyfr-" No I can't call him that, I barely know him, _she thought, "My Friend."

"Ex-Boyfriend?" He asked with a casual smile.

"No," She smiled, "I just met him yesterday. He asked me out on a date."

"Oh," His smile turned into a smirk, "And who is this Mr. Mysterious?"

"His name is Franken Stein."

The boy's perfect tan suddenly went pale, "Oh, Him?"

"Are you all right?" Marie asked, setting a hand on his arm, "You're so pale."

"Miss, if there's one thing you should know about the doctor, it's-"

The door to the lobby swung open with a wind that came with the rain. Stein stepped through the door, looking sharp. He wore a white shirt with even stitches down the front. A pair of slick black pants, and a nice black and grey stitched jacket. His silky silver hair combed and clean.

"Marie!" He said with a smile as he crossed the room over to the Blonde's side, "I'm so sorry that I ran so late. Wow, you look beautiful," He greeted her with a brush of his lips over her ear as he whispered the compliment to her.

"Thanks," she smiled, that blush she had been experiencing the past few days now darkened her face. The doctor wrapped one arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling her into his grasp. He met the eyes of the young boy, seeing the fear burn through his green eyes like acid.

"Who is this your talking to?" Stein asked, a playful smile lighting his face.

"Oh," she gave him a smile in return, "He's our waiter." She turned back to the young man, "Now what were you about to say?"

Stein deadlocked eyes with the young man, making a fierce signal within his eyes. It stated for him to back off. The young man shook his head and picked up two menus, "I-It's nothing important. This way to your table."

…...

Maka walked silently through the dark laboratory, feeling the freezing tile on the soles of her bare feet. Her cheek still felt sore from the doctor's slap she had received only yesterday. It had left an ugly purple bruise, putting yet another mark upon her sickly colored skin. Her dull green eyes, which had lost their sparkle long ago, remained focused on the freezing floor. She felt a presence behind her, summoned by a rush of cool air. She froze in her place, fear constricting her body. She spun in a fast motion before falling into the arms of the presence before her.

She broke into a series of sobs as she clung to the thin figure. Kid wrapped his arms around Maka as her body clutched his and lost the ability to support her own weight. Kid leaned against the wall as he held onto her. He kissed the top of her head as her body continued to rack with sobs, "Maka…" He sighed, keeping her close to him. She eventually ceased her tears, but kept her fingers clung tightly to his dirty white clothes.

"I…" She look a few steps back and sat down in the middle of the floor. Her dirty brown hair hung in front of her eyes as she lay on the floor with her legs on either side of her. She felt a new set of tears stream down her thin face, "I'm sorry, Kid."

"Maka," Kid said before kneeling down beside her and setting her hand on her shoulder, "Something else is bothering you other than Soul, isn't it?"

She sat a trembling hand atop his, "Can y-you keep a secret?"

The young reaper nodded, his midnight hair falling into his faded gold eyes. He knew that the person Maka was closest to next to Soul was him. If she couldn't trust him anymore, and Soul left, he knew that she would lose her mind.

"Last night," Maka turned and met faded golden eyes, "Dr. Stein-" She couldn't finish. More tears rolled down her cheeks before she felt Kid's arms surround her once again. She continued until her ability to produce tears was non-existent. Kid made small rocking motions in an effort to calm her down. Kind words slipped from his pale mouth as he cradled her shaking body close. She clung to Kid before letting more words escape her, "It was all I could do for Soul's sake!" She cried out, before loosening her grip on Kid.

"Maka," Kid held her out so he could see her, "Show me."

She felt her bloodshot eyes widen before she looked into the pair of all to familiar faded golden orbs before nodding her head once. Her frail fingers went to the buttons of her dress and undid the top three. A large circle was carved into her skin with a zigzag running through it, located just below her right collar bone. It looked as if it had been etched in with a blade, most likely a scalpel. The skin surrounding it was red and bruised. Maka shivered as Kid's cool fingertips brushed over her newly scarred skin, "What did he take from you?"

Her breath was shaky, "Just some samples," she sighed as if it were and everyday thing. The sad part was that it _was _an everyday thing. Kid hated this just as much as the rest of them. Stein was only a madman who did nothing but take, and take, and _take_ from them. Kid leaned down and brushed his freezing lips over the zigzag type design. Maka let out a whimper as the reaper kissed her injured skin. She pressed his head closer and lay back on the icy floor, weaving her shaking fingers into his midnight hair.

Kid released a cool breath along her dirty skin. He placed another delicate kiss on it before pulling away and meeting her eyes, "Maka," His voice was nothing but a low whisper, "What does this marking mean?"

She looked up at the boy, eyes looking almost dead, "I don't know. I've never seen it before. And Dr. Stein didn't say anything about it." She felt his dark hair with three white stripes curve so delicately to her hands as she responded to him. He kept his eyes sharply focused on the mark that was now carved into her chest. The two of them sat up fully and released each other from their loose embraces. Maka slowly pushed the three buttons through their separate holes. She leaned against the grey stitched wall, her dirty hair falling into her eyes. She released a sigh before letting her gaze shift up to the ceiling, "I wonder what Dr. Stein has been thinking about today. He's seemed a bit…different since he came home yesterday."

"I heard him on the phone last night."

Kid and Maka froze before turning and looking to the left, to where the voice had come from. In the same instant, a figure stepped into more visible light. Her long black hair stuck close to her back. Her dark blue eyes filled with scars, even if she had only been here three years. Her dirty white gown fit loosely on her once well-curved body.

"Tsubaki," Kid and Maka in unison as the ghostly eighteen year old came closer.

"I didn't even know that the doctor had a phone," Kid said, setting his chin atop his palm, "Let alone a person to talk to on it."

"And notice how he left today in nice clothes," Maka pulled her knees up to her chest, "I doubt he's going to the store dressed like that."

"Who knows," Kid sighed, "Maybe he's got a date."

"It was a woman on the phone," Tsubaki slid onto the floor beside the two of them, so they were sitting in a triangle, "But I doubt the doctor's got a girlfriend. I mean, I'm sure that even with all that charm, he couldn't get a girl to go for him. Not unless she was _that _desperate."

Maka folded her hands together, "I pray for the woman desperate enough to fall for him." They sat in silence for a few moments more. Silence was not uncommon in the laboratory. In fact, it was more common for the place to be silent than filled with noise.

Maka shivered before standing and crossing the hall, "I'm going to go check on Soul."

Kid and Tsubaki watched her go and silence. They heard a creaky door swing open and then shut again, spilling blinding light into the hallway for only seconds. Kid looked at Tsubaki closely before speaking, "Tsubaki? Is something the matter?"

A hardness lined in depression shrouded her dark eyes, "That's the same way that he got me," a glint of tears pooled at the corner of her eyes, "He lured me in with his charm. He got me working for him. He lead me on just enough until I found out what he really was. Then I couldn't get out. I fell for him, and before I knew it, he was hacking me open with a scalpel. I'm so stupid!"

"Tsubaki," Kid sat a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder, "We've all been through hell, and are still going through it. We may be scarred, but we'll survive."

"I won't let him," she growled, clenching her hand together in a fist. Kid looked at her, wondering what she meant, until she continued, "I won't let him do what he did to me to any other woman ever again."

…...

"So," Stein sat his half-empty glass of wine down on the table, "What is the story with that eye of yours?" Marie's good eye widened and she ran her fingers over her eye patch, grazing the bottom of the circular, zigzag design. "Forgive me if my question seems too personal. I'm only curious after all."

"Oh no," Marie sat her nearly full glass down, "the question isn't too personal, it just caught me off guard. You see," her fingers went back to the patch, "Everyone that I've ever know before I lived here knew about my eye, so it just seems a bit strange to hear it for the first time." She gave the doctor her signature smile before continuing, "My father had always been a little off. My mother said it was because he was in a car accident in high school and suffered brain damage. She said that he wasn't the same after that. Due to the brain damage, he suffered from mild schizophrenia. After a while, when I was about twelve, he lost it and stabbed my eye with a pair of scissors," She opened her honey-gold eye, as if reflecting on the incident, "He was put in an institution after that. The entire town heard about it. I think he's dead now, but I'm not sure," a small shudder shook through her body, "I still have nightmares about it sometimes. Every now and then, I can still feel his eyes watching me," She looked up and realized that Stein's face had gotten hard and serious, "But that's over and done with, so we don't need to talk about the depressing things in my pa-"

Her voice cut off as Stein took her slender hand in his and pressed her palm to his cheek, "I'm so sorry, Marie," he sighed, letting his cool breath skate across her palm. Marie felt her cheeks become very hot as Stein's cool fingertips glided along her lower arm. He placed a delicate kiss in the center of her palm before once again resting it on her cheek, "I'm sorry for what he did to you," He leaned across the table, so their faces were only inches apart, darkening the blush on her face, "But I won't ever let anyone else hurt you again."

"Stein," She said, avoiding looking into his eyes to keep from being swept up inside their depth, "We only met yesterday. We barely know each other."

Stein sat back in his chair, releasing Marie's palm onto the table, "And what a shame that is," he sighed, eyelids drooping. A small, but sly smile made it's way onto his face, insanity edging in his eyes, "I would like to get to know you more, Marie."

A breath rushed into Marie's lungs. The blush on her face became the color of rose petals as a shiver racked through her body. She felt a drop of sweat trickling down her neck. There was just something about Stein that made her feel on edge. Like there was a slight hint of danger in the air around them when he looked at her like that. And she was drawn to it.

Stein picked up his cloth napkin and wiped his mouth before folding it and setting it down on the table, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Marie smiled and sat her napkin on the table as well, "I think that I would love it if you walked me back to my hotel." Stein smiled and stood before crossing behind Marie and pulling her chair out so she could stand. They only stopped to pay the check in the lobby before Stein held open the door and the two of them walked out, only to be met fine white flakes of snow falling from the clouded sky above, "Oh!" Marie smiled an looked up into the sky, "It's snowing." She reached a tentative hand out into the air and allowed a few flakes to land in her palm. She shivered and drew her hand back in, a giggle dancing off her lips.

Stein smiled and pulled his black and grey stitched coat off before wrapping it around Marie's shoulders, "You act like you haven't ever seen snow before," Stein said, pulling her closer to him so she would be warm.

"Because I haven't," She laughed and let Stein's arm wrap around her shoulders, "It never snowed where I grew up. This is the first time I've ever seen it in person."

Stein smiled, "Hey, Marie," she looked over at him, smiling widely, "Open your mouth and taste the snow."

She giggled, "Why?"

"Just try it," he insisted, tilting his head back and opening his mouth. Marie shortly did the same thing and laughed. Stein pulled his head back up, "Well?"

"It's cold," Marie laughed as she pulled her head back forward, "and sweet."

"See?" He said as they move down the street, "I see children do that when it snows all the time."

"I like the snow," Marie continued to smile as they turned and went up a set of stairs that led to her room, "It's so…pure and clean."

"Just like you," Stein sighed under his breath as they approached her room.

"What?" Marie asked as she withdrew her keycard from her purse and slid open the door, "Would you like to come in? I can make us some tea."

"No thank you, dear," he said with a smile, "I should probably get back home, it's getting a tad on the late side," He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, "I'll see you later, Marie."

_I may not ever get a chance like this again, _Marie thought, "Stein!" She called out from her doorway. A sadistic smile played momentarily onto the doctor's face before her wiped it away and turned to face her and was quickly met in her embrace. She felt a thin blush flick onto her face, "I…I had a really nice time tonight, Stein. I…I think that we should really do this again some time." She said in a half-shaking voice, due to her anxiety.

Stein smiled and gently hugged her back, "I'm glad you had a fun, Marie."

She pulled out and smiled at him, "It sure is getting late, huh?"

"Yes, it is," he said, smile turning down, "so I think I should go."

He turned to leave once again, but Marie grabbed his sleeve, "Or you could stay here," She was blushing really hard now, her voice began to get smaller, "With me."

"Well," Stein smiled and allowed her to pull him into the hotel room, "I suppose I could stay."

A/N: I am finally DONE with this chapter! I apologize for the wait being so long, But like I said before, this style of writing is very different from what I usually do and it takes a bit longer to finish. So I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I hope you continue to read.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	3. Afraid

Chapter 3: Afraid

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Stein sighed as he rested his head on Marie's chest. She had her fingers wound into his silvery hair, holding him there with her petite arms. He kept his hand turned to the side, letting a thin section of his hair to fall over one of his eyes. He kept the flat side of his screw on her skin, not wanting the other side to be pressed into her skin. The sheet lay lightly up until his lower back, leaving the rest of his icy skin in the open air. She was fast asleep as she held him, but he was the opposite. He was fully awake.

Her stamina was much higher then he had expected. She had kept things going for quite a while. Another thing was the fact that she was already so drawn into him. If she wasn't, she wouldn't have invited him to stay with her. On the first date. She was so hopelessly longing for him that it was pathetic. And I was obvious. It was like she was trying to keep him within her hold. He would let her do that…for a while.

She smiled that sadistic smile before securing his arms around her back, pulling her even closer to him. He could feel the thin layer of sweat coating her skin as he grazed his fingers up and down her back. Marie smiled in her sleep and held his head closer to her. He felt her heart beating fasted within her chest.

_This feeling, _He thought as he closed his eyes halfway, _What is this feeling? My heartbeat…is slightly elevated. _The doctor felt his mind continue to wonder, even as he dozed into his sleep.

…...

"Maka?" Kid called through the eerily quiet laboratory. His black and white striped hair falling down, touching the back of his neck and his forehead. He would have to cut it soon. If it got too long, it would really begin to irritate him, "Maka?" He called once more, peering his head into the room that she used to share with Soul, but now had to herself. It was cold, dark, and unfortunately empty. He stepped out of the room and walked towards the bathroom that the seven adolescence shared, "Maka?"

He flicked on the light switch, finding that the bathroom wasn't empty. Chrona sat hunched over in the corner beside the bathtub by herself. Her stick-like body trembled as Kid approached her, "Chrona?" he asked, setting a hand on her shoulder, "Is everything okay?"

"I-I-I d-d-don't-" Her shaken voice stuttered as she continued to shake. Kid stepped around her and sat on the edge of the bath tub before placing his hands on both of her shoulders.

"Chrona?"

A razor blade clanked to the floor, followed by a few drops of the pinkette's blood leaking from her palm. The thin girl continued to shake, tears in the corners of her powdery-blue eyes, "I-I-I…"

"Chrona," Kid sighed before picking up Chrona's injured hand and looking at the deep slice across her hand, made by pressing the blade into it and letting it slide to the floor. Kid leaned over and opened the small cabinet beside the bathtub. His pale fingers searched inside until they found what they were looking for. Kid pulled out a thin roll of bandages and begin to wrap them around Chrona's palm. The thin girl continued to shake, even as Kid tied the knot to hold the bandage together, "Chrona," he said again as he sat the remainder of the bandages in the cabinet and closed it, "You've got to stop this."

"I-I-I-"

"I haven't told anyone else about any of these past incidents, and I really don't want to," Kid tilted the pinkette's head up, so that he could make sure she was looking into his faded golden eyes as his black brows slanted down, "But you know that I will if this happens again."

Chrona's powdery eyes widened as she looked up at the young reaper. Stopped shaking and slowly nodded her head, "I-I-I'm s-sorry, K-K-Kid," she stuttered as she closed her hand around her bandaged injury. A few tears fell from her eyes, as she held her hand closer to her.

Kid could see the pain lingering in her eyes as another sob shook from her. He reached over to her and wiped a trail of tears with his thumb. Her body began to shake again as she sobbed, "Chrona," he sighed before picking her up bridal style and carrying her across the hall to her bedroom and setting her down on the bed, "Get some sleep, okay?"

Chrona shook as Kid pulled the scratchy white sheets up around her before nodding. She slid her thin pillow and clutched it to her chest, curling up her legs in front of it. She felt a few tears trickle down her face as she looked at her bandaged palm. _What's happening to me? _she thought as she closed her hand and buried it into the pillow.

Kid wiped her tears away one last time before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. He hated this. All of this suffering around him. He took a few steps through the hallway before he felt the swirling sensation in his head again. He immediately clung to the wall to keep from collapsing. He turned and rested his forehead on his arm, his breath coming out in heavy pants. He closed his eyes and felt the sweat trickle down his neck and face.

_Not this again,_ he thought as he continued to breathe in pants. Stein had put him on some new drugs that he had concocted. Kid didn't even know what they were supposed to be doing, but they mad him so dizzy at times that he felt sick. He pulled away from the wall and stumbled into the bathroom. He pulled his sweat-soaked shirt off and turned on the sink before for sticking his face in. He kept his eyes closed and stayed like that with hi face submerged until the urge to breathe hit him. He pulled his head out and took in a deep breath of air, panting still. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror. Scars covered his thin chest, hastily stitched together most of them, "So…" he turned off the water, "Disgusting…" he growled, turning away from his hideously asymmetrical reflection before exiting the room and turned the lights out behind him.

He eventually made his way to his room and sunk into his foam bed. He didn't even bother to put his shirt back on. He lay on his back and continued to pant, trying to stop the swirling in his head. He closed his eyes and attempted to relax. Then he felt a pair of familiar hands push his thick waves of black hair from his forehead. He wearily opened his eyes, seeing Maka lay beside him as she brushed his hair away.

"Maka?" he asked as he closed his eyes again to stop the room from spinning.

"Shhhh," she whispered before curling up next to him, "Go to sleep. I'll stay right here," she held his pale hand in hers and held it close to her, "right here." It was only a matter of moments before the two teenagers fell asleep on the bed.

…...

"Stein…" Marie moaned, her eyes beginning to flutter open as the sun hit them. She reached out with her arms, but was unable to find him, "Stein?" she called out before sitting up, pulling the white sheets up around her bare body. She looked to either side of her, scanning the room, but finding no sign of him. She got up and crossed the room, pulling her fluffy white rob on before continuing her search around the room, "Stein?" she asked again as she poked around. His clothes weren't on the floor anymore. She crossed the room and pushed the door to the bathroom open. She was immediately greeted by the smell of cigarettes. _He must've smoked in here while I was still sleeping, _she thought before flicking on the light. The bathroom was empty.

She stepped in the rest of the way before noticing his stitched black coat resting on the countertop, a piece of paper neatly folded on top of it. She picked up the note in one hand and the coat in the other. She pressed the fabric to her nose, taking in the smell of cigarettes and black coffee. Most people would find the smell unattractive, but she savored it. She flipped the note open, looking at the doctors scratchy cursive.

_Marie,_

_I had to get back to the lab. Hold onto my coat for me, will you? I hope to see you again soon. Maybe we could meet up at the movies tonight? _

_Love,_

_Stein_

_P.S. I had a nice time with you last night._

Marie smiled before pressing the note to her chest, "Okay, Stein," she sighed before setting his coat back on the counter followed by the note, "the movies it is."

She bent over and got some water running in the tub. Steam lined the hot water as she slid out of her robe and submerged herself into the tub, feeling the hot water run over her smooth skin. She pulled her long blonde hair to one side of her, letting it drape over her left shoulder. She felt strange without the eye patch. She allowed her hand to come up out of the water and touch the lid of her blinded eye. She hadn't felt tired, but before she knew it, her other closed and her head tilted back as she began to doze off and sink further into the hot water.

…...

A twelve year old Marie flopped down onto her twin sized bed. She was so happy that it was Friday. Now she could go shopping with her mother this weekend. The house was so quiet when she first got home. Her father wouldn't get home for a half hour, and her mother got home shortly after that. She pulled a book out of her small yellow backpack and skipped down the stairs of the small house before sinking into the couch and opening her book. She had been onto the romance novels lately. Her mother had said that it was just a phase that all pre-teen and teenage girls went through, but Marie wasn't so sure. She was just in love with the idea of love.

Marie stayed on the couch like that until she heard the grumbling engine of her father's car pull into the driveway. She smiled and saved her place in her book before racing into the kitchen and pouring half a bottle of beer into a glass and putting the bottle back in the fridge. Her father always liked a little drink when he got home. She sat the glass on the table next to the door and then sat back on the couch.

The door swung open, revealing her father, his black hair short, his brown eyes exhausted. He sat his keys down on the table and picked up the glass, downing the entire thing before setting the glass back down.

"Hello Daddy!" Marie said looking up at him. He met her soft brown eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Marie," he said before leaning over the couch and kissing the top of her head. She laughed as he did so. Marie loved her dad. He was the nicest man in the world. He was only a little crazy, but that wasn't his fault.

The entire evening slipped by like any other evening. Her mother came home, her long blonde hair up in a bun, her sparkling green eyes smiling. They had dinner. Marie watched her mother work on the new quilt. She kept watching her mother's scissors at work. _Snip. Snip. Snip._

Marie took her bath and went to bed. The day went on as it normally have. Until Marie was awoken by a loud crash that came from downstairs, followed by some swearing. Marie instantly recognized it as her father's voice. She climbed out of bed and slid into her bunny slippers before walking out of her room and down the stairs.

"Daddy?" Marie asked as she walked into the dark kitchen. Her father turned and looked at her, a glass bottle of booze in his hand., "Daddy," she stepped forward, "Let's put the bottle away tonight."

Her father turned fast and slapped her hard in the face. Stunned she stepped back as he held up her mothers shining pair of sewing scissors, "No," she said under her breath. She screamed just as her father lunged at her.

…...

Marie's good eyes snapped open. _I can't breathe._ She thought as she looked around. She immediately pulled her head up out of the bathwater, coughing the water from her lungs. She took in a few breaths before placing her head in her palms, "It was just a dream," she said to herself, "it was only a dream." She looked up at the door, and saw a tall figure. She screamed and closed her eyes.

Nothing happened.

"It's not really there," she told herself before climbing out of the tub and wrapping her robe around her shaking body before sitting on the floor. _It isn't really there._

A/N: All done! This chapter is kinda short, but a bunch of stuff happened. I'm exited to start on the next chapter. Are you exited to read the next chapter? I hope so! I'll see you all in the next chapter!

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	4. His Heart

Chapter 4: His Heart

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

"Get up!" Kid heard the familiar command come from down the hall. His eyes snapped open and he immediately kicked Maka awake, knowing he'd apologize to her later for the bruise already blossoming on her pale shin. The two sprang from the bed. Maka flew out the door, shortly followed by Kid, who had to tug his dirty shirt on over his head.

The two teens flew out into the hallway, meeting everyone else in the close quarters as well. Chrona came scrambling out of her room, ramming into Kid in the process. She blushed and looked down. There wasn't any time for her to apologize before and infuriated doctor Stein grabbed Maka by the hair and dragged her up to the front, so that everybody could see her.

"Now," the doctor said with eerily calmness, "I know that I wasn't here last night, and I apologize for that," He said with a mock smile. He then pulled a scalpel from his lab coat pocket and ran it along Maka's cheek just lightly enough that it could only scrape her skin, "but now I want to talk with all of you." Each of the adolescents froze, Maka's skin burned against the icy blade. "Now some of you might know that I was out last night for a reason. I was out because of my new," Stein's menacing smile widened, "_Friend. _Her name is Marie Mjolnir, and I'm thinking that she will make an excellent addition to the lot of you." Kid felt his teeth grind together, he hated the way this man treated his family. Hated how he didn't think of them as humans, but as disposable experiments. This man was nothing but a monster, "I'm going to meet up with Ms. Mjolnir this evening at the theater. And then after that, she's going to come over for dinner." Maka's eyes widened as he pressed the blade deep into her skin, but not cutting, not yet, "And I want the best behavior out of all of you. You are to have this house spotless by 7:00 and you are to be in the clothes I have put into your bedrooms. Dinner is to be prepared when we arrive. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Doctor Stein," the group of teens responded, keeping their eyes locked on the pale skinned madman.

"Good," he smiled as he shoved Maka into the crowd, Kid steadying her in his arms as she collided with his chest, "Now, I'm going to be in my room. Come Tsubaki."

He made a fluid gesture and the raven-haired girl emerged from the crowd and followed, "Yes, Dr. Stein," her voice said in monotone as he shut his door behind her, the lock clicking into place.

…...

Marie sat down her flat iron and looked at her hair. For once, she had gotten it strait. Her blonde hair hung down nearly to the small of her back now. Usually with it's curl, it didn't go much past her shoulders. She thought that she liked the way this made her hair look. It looked younger, professional almost.

She stepped back to view her entire self in the mirror. Her V-neck black sweater fit to the curves of her body in the sexiest way. And her jeans hugged her legs at the thigh, but then flared out slightly at the bottom. Her white and black Nike's fit comfortably on her feet. A gold chain hung around her neck with a delicate heart resting on her collar.

Her body made a small jolt in surprise when she heard a knock on the door. She crossed the room and pulled the door open to see none other than the good Doctor himself, "Stein!" She nearly slammed the door shut in surprise, "Y-you're early!"

"I just can't stay away from you for long now can I?" He said in a smooth voice before lightly picking up one of her blonde locks between his fingers, "I like your hair."

"Th-thanks," she said, a blush forming on her face, "It's nice to see you again too, Stein."

"I see you kept up with my jacket," He said, looking at his coat hanging over the back of the grey chair that sat near the door of her hotel room.

"O-Oh!" She shot a glance at the coat, "Y-Yeah! It smells like you do…so I didn't bother to wash it…"the blush thickened on her face as she realized what she had just said.

Stein smirked before he slid his arms into his coat, "Do you like the way I smell, Miss Marie?"

"You smell like Black Coffee and Cigarettes," She said simply, a smile creeping onto her face, "I'm not quite sure why but your scent," she clasped her hands together, "Comforts me."

"Does it now?" Stein asked before he pulled her up against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"St-Stein?" her voice came out in a small whisper.

"I'm glad that something about me comforts you," Stein's voice said in a low murmur, "Most people typically find nothing about me comforting."

"Stein…" She slowly wrapped her shaking arms around him, "I'm sorry to hear that."

That sadistic smile crept back upon to his face. She was so easy to manipulate that it was pathetic. It was like running beads onto a string. She was the easiest creature to sting along. She was falling hopelessly into the black hole that was him. All according to plan.

…...

"Big sis?" Patty asked as she pulled her top over her head.

"Yes, What is it Patty?" Liz asked in response as she zipped up her jeans and pushed her hair behind her shoulders.

"Can you do my buttons and tie my shoes?" The younger girl asked in a sweet voice.

Liz smiled before she spun to face her sister, "Of course." Patty smiled before sitting down on the stained twin mattress that served as her bed. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't do such simple things. The cartilage in both of her hands was very low due to a medication Dr. Stein had developed. So in a way, she had sever arthritis.

Liz pushed the pearly buttons on Patty's pink shirt through their holes in the front and then tied the white laces of her matching tennis shoes. Once she was finished, the pair looked into the mirror.

If one didn't no better, they could have passed for normal children. Liz's long hair had been pulled up into a bun. She wore a plain cornflower-blue long sleeved t-shirt with simple, flare leg jeans and white tennis shoes. Patty's hair has been detangled from it's knotted mess and now fell just above her shoulders. She wore a pink blouse that had cap sleeves along with a long sleeved, lilac undershirt. She wore a pair of faded straight leg jeans and pink tennis shoes. The pair looked so ordinary they found it hard to recognize themselves. Were these the same girls who were experimented on? Were they not just normal kids?

No.

One look to see what was beneath the nice clothes they wore changed everything. Nothing could hide the fact that they were scarred; inside and out.

"Hey, Sis?" Patty asked, "How's Soul going to eat with us?"

"Well," Liz made an effort to smile, "Maka is working on getting him dressed right now. And he's going to sit in there with us with his IV pole and try to have a conversation with all of us; maybe taking a bite or so of food. But we're not going to press him too hard."

"Alright, Big Sis!" Patty smiled. Despite the fact that she had been here so long, she was still able to smile.

"Hey Liz?" Maka asked from the door. Her hair had been detangled and pulled into two even pigtails. A clean, misty green sweater fit nicely to her pale body along with a pair of white jeans and black flats, "Can you help Chrona with the buttons on her dress?"

"Of course," Liz stood up from the bed and crossed the room before heading down the cold hall.

…... 

"Two for _Summer's Blood_," Stein said in a clear voice through the window at the front of the movie theater.

"_Summer's Blood?_" Marie asked in a startled voice, "I thought we were seeing _Loveless in Argentina._" Marie's eyes darted to the movie poster. A girl stood peering around it's edge with a bloodied knife in hand. The caption on the poster read: _Blood is Sicker than Water._

"I thought we might like this film better," Stein looked at her as the woman in the ticket booth slid him the tickets, "It's been re-released to theaters for only this weekend."

"What is it even about?" The blonde asked, looking at her ticket quizzically.

"It's a Canadian thriller about a girl trying to find her father, but she meets up with this guy who she falls in love with, but he turns out to be a psychopath," Stein said, smirking at the irony.

"Sounds…" Marie bit her lip, "Disturbing…"

"It has romance in it," Stein smirked, "It'll be fun."

"Well," She took a sip of the medium diet coke in her hand, "I suppose that it will be alright. But if I have nightmares, it's your fault."

The pair laughed as they walked into the theater.

…...

Maka gently slid the shirt over Soul's head, pulling it lightly over his scared, firm chest, "There we go," She gently combed her fingers through his snowy hair, "Now we just have to get your shoes on."

"Maka," Soul's strained voice said as he sat a hand on hers, "Why would Dr. Stein be having us do this?"

Maka bit her lower lip, "Dr. Stein is having a friend visit this evening for dinner," she said in a soft voice, "And he wants us to be there."

Soul swallowed the empty air in his mouth, "Is he planning on taking another person."

Maka's teeth sunk deeper into her lower lip, "I don't know, Soul," She lied. She didn't want to put any stress on him, "Her name is Miss Marie."

"What's she like?" Soul asked, his eyelids beginning to droop.

"I don't know," Maka sat her hand atop his, "I haven't met her yet. But Dr. Stein said she was really kind and that she hopes you get better Soul," she felt tears began to well at the corners of her eyes, "I hope you get better."

"Maka," Soul gently cupped her face with one of his hands and brushed the tears from her cheek, "Don't Cry. Not for me."

"Soul-"

"I'm going to be fine, Maka," Soul pulled his half sister into his embrace, running his fingers through her hair, "You shouldn't cry. I'm not going to leave you."

"I-" She sobbed, the tears streaming violently down her face began to steadily slow, "Soul. I just don't want you to keep hurting. I love you, Soul. I love you so much. And I just can't stand the thought of-"

"I love you, too, Maka," he sighed, "And I swear I'm not going anywhere."

…...

The entire theater screamed as the father pulled the trigger on the gun. Marie screamed and closed her good eye before jumping so high she nearly flew into Stein's lap. The doctor just chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"You said this movie wouldn't be that bad," Marie playfully smacked Stein in the chest, "That gun almost made my heart stop."

"I wouldn't be to sure that gun is-"

The gun fired again and the wife fell back onto the floor with blood pooling from the bullet wound. The protagonist screamed in sync with the Audience as Marie clung tightly to Stein.

"Oh my God!" Marie squealed, "Is it over?"

Stein stared at the screen for a few more seconds before smiling, "Yeah."

Marie peeked around Stein's shoulder, "Why did I let you talk me into seeing this?"

"I'm not sure," Stein pulled Marie closer, causing a blush to coat her face which wasn't seen in the dark theater, "Do you want to leave?"

"No," She looked down, resting her head on his shoulder, "If I don't see the end of the movie, I'll never learn to get over the feeling of fear brought on by this plot line."

The doctor just smiled and nodded, resting his head atop hers. He felt a flutter surge through his heart. What was this feeling he felt? What was this feeling stirring deep within his heart? It couldn't possibly be love. No. Not love. That was a feeling the good doctor would never be able to understand.

A/N: I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out. I got busy and files got mixed together and then I ran short on time. But it's finally here now, so I'll be glad for that. I really hope that I won't be so slow on the next chapter. I hope you'll continue to read this.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	5. Faith

Chapter 5: Faith

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Marie hugged Stein's arm as the pair walked from the theater, most of the color drained from her face. Stein looked over at her and emitted a light chuckle at the sight of her, "What's the matter, Marie? You look like you saw a ghost."

"You are never picking the movie that we see ever again," The blonde said in a small voice. This, of course, only made the doctor laugh louder.

"Awww, did my movie scare you.?" He said in a teasing voice as they walked out into the dark streets and headed towards Stein's laboratory.

"Of course it scared me!" Marie snapped, pulling away from the silver haired man, "I don't even know why I'm going with you back to your place!"

"Because," He pulled the blond in close, her face only inches from his, "I think you know what comes after."

A heavy blush coated the young woman's face as she pulled away from the doctor's gaze. Of course she knew. But she didn't need to be told. She had just assumed. In truth, she wasn't sure how she really felt about this. About Stein, and all of the baggage that came with him. The secrets she knew she kept hidden. The mysterious glint in his eyes. All of those scars covering his body that had been hastily stitched together. And all the intimate moments they had shared behind closed doors.

She was deceptively lost in this man who she had met only three days ago. So lost that she was afraid that she may never be able to come back.

…...

Kid sighed as he strained the noodles from the large pot, the steam brewing up in his face. But he didn't move. The heat felt so good on his skin compared to the cold metal that was usually there.

"K-Kid-Kun?" A shaky voice said from behind the young Shinigami as the last of the steam rose up to the ceiling. Kid turned and looked over his shoulder to see Chrona in her dress that was so dark purple that it was nearly black. The sleeves clung to her slim arms and the skirt hugged close to her figure and legs. Her pink hair was combed clean and hung unevenly around her face, a purple-black bow on the left side of her head.

A smile crosses Kid's face, "Hello Chrona. Is there something I can help you with?"

"I just wondered," A faint blush crossed the pinkette's face, "If you needed any help setting up for dinner."

Kid's smile widened, "That would be great, Chrona. Do you wanna grate the cheese while mix in the noodles with the sauce?"

Chrona nodded and stood next to Kid as he pressed the cheese grater in her hand. The pair stood cooking in silence. Kid rolled up the sleeved of his long-sleeved black shirt as he worked, exposing the faded scars that ran up his death-pale arms. Chrona couldn't help but keep glancing over at his exposed skin. Even despite the scars, he hand such pretty skin. She kept her mind and hands focused on grating the parmesan, but her eyes kept following Kid's body as he worked.

The muscles of his arms moving back and forth as he stirred the sauce into the noodles. The determined look he got on his face as he worked. There were many thing's that Chrona couldn't deal with, but Kid was not one of them. She found the teenage Shinigami quite fascinating.

"Chrona?"

His voice brought them back to the surface.

"Chrona, do you have the cheese grated?"

A new shade of pink, identical to that of her hair, coated her face, "Y-Yeah." She slid the cheese over to the Shinigami with a trembling hand. Her fingers brushed his, causing her cheeks to inflame more before she pulled her hand away. Kid took no notice as he added the dairy product to the meal, "Will you help me Set the table?"

A small smile crosses the boney girl's features, "O-Of course."

…...

"So, where is it that you live anyways, Stein?" Marie asked as they continued to walk down the dank streets. It had begun snowing like the night before, the powdery white flakes sticking into Marie's long blonde hair.

"It's not a whole lot farther," Stein insisted as they turned down Parnell Street, "I live on the slightly older side of town, so it's further away than most of the businesses and shops."

"And you just walk everywhere?"

"Pretty much," The doctor said, shaking the snow from his hair, "No one in town really owns a car. Most everyone walks."

"I suppose that makes a bit of sense," Marie whispered beneath her breath as she walked.

"I don't really have any neighbors; they all moved away a very long time ago when the city expanded. So it's relatively quiet out here."

"Oh," Marie quietly walked beside the doctor, but for an unknown reason, wouldn't let her eyes meet his. Something didn't feel right. The air was too eerily quiet. She felt the impulse to run, much like a frightened dear at the sound of a hunter drawing back his bow. But that was silly, wasn't it? Stein wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her, not ever, right?

"Marie?"

His voice yanked her back into reality just before she let out a blood chilling scream. She briefly shook her head back and forth before looking at him. She looked into his olive-gold eyes and felt comfort before she drew up next to him. And then her lips were on his, and the safety enveloped her.

After a brief eternity, she pulled away from him; arms still twined up around his neck. His eyes remained focused on her, even as she pulled away.

"Yes?" She asked, fondling the ends of his hair as she spoke.

He smiled, "We're here."

…...

"Welcome home Doctor Stein and Ms. Marie!" The seven adolescence smiled and said as the pair entered the laboratory.

Marie laughed and delight as she entered the room, "Well aren't you all just adorable!" She offered a kind smile as she walked towards the children. She passed each one of them, having a compliment for each. When she reached the end of the line, she reached the last teenager of whom went by the name "Soul". The albino boy held onto his IV pole for balance.

"You must be Soul," Marie smiled at him before gently kissing his forehead, "I'm praying for you," her voice was but an angelic whisper, "I hope you get better soon."

A light blush flecked Soul's face, "Th-Thank you, Ms. Marie."

"No need to thank me, silly!" Marie smiled with a playful wave of her hand.

After a few more brief words, the party of nine filed into the dining room. A grey and white stitched table cloth had been spread across the table with nine plates evenly arranged with four chairs on each side and one at the head. Kid was still trying to deal with their being nine chairs as apposed to their usual eight.

Simple white plates lay in front of each chair along with the basic utensils. The food was arranged in a "serve yourself' style around the table, much like families had used to do; but here it seemed as if it were some sick joke. There was a bowl with the pasta Chrona and Kid had prepared together, a plate with bread Tsubaki made with the recipe she had been taught as a child, another bowl with the greens necessary for a proper salad, a few odds and ins around the table for the salad, and four small metal bowls with the dressing. At each plate their was a small bowl for the salad, a fork, a knife, and a glass of water. Had anyone not known any better, this setting could have made the cover for _Better Homes and Gardens _on their next kitchen issue.

Stein pulled back the chair for Marie and slowly everyone sat.

"Are we going to have a prayer?" the blonde asked, looking to the stitched madman as she spoke.

"Um," he looked to the side "I don't see why not."

Marie smiled before taking hold of Stein's hand and then reached out to Tsubaki, who was sitting next to her. The raven-headed girl looked at her curiously before she hesitantly took her hand. Then Tsubaki's hand met Liz's, whose hand knotted with Patty's, who carefully reached across the table to join hands with Chrona, who then shakily took hold of Kid's hand, who without hesitation held Maka's hand, who took Soul's hand in her own. The circle was almost complete. With extreme reluctance, Soul took hold of Dr. Stein's hand. Then the group bowed their heads.

"Dear Heavenly Father, please bless this food in hopes that it will nourish our bodies and keep all of us strong and healthy. Please let their newly found strength aid these beautiful children in their struggle against their battle of illness and to held Soul heal from his injuries. Also we pray that you keep all of us safe from harm of both our bodies and minds. Amen."

"Amen," everyone repeated after her. The children had never really prayed before. They had never really thought their was a God. They thought they were in hell. They had never even considered the concept of faith; Until Ms. Marie had walked through that door. Then they understood.

God had sent them an angel. A person to save them.

Maybe, if they were lucky, they could really believe that she could save them.

Diner began and ended without a so much as a hitch. Marie managed slight small talk with each of the children; learning something about each of them. She learned that Patty loved animals. Liz told her about how she loved painting nails. Tsubaki talked about baking. She got a list of romance novels that Maka recommended she read. Chrona kind of drabbled in the figurative language of poetry. Kid liked making things tidy. And then there was Soul.

"Well, Soul?" Marie asked as she took a sip of her water, "What is it that you like to do?"

"Oh," Soul looked down, "Nothing Really."

"Come now, there must be something you like."

"Well, There is this one thing that I used to do in my spare time…"

'What is it?" Marie asked curiously as she edged in on Soul's words.

"I like to play the Piano…" His voice dropped as he spoke, getting quieter with each syllable.

Marie smiled, "What a coincidence. I used to play when I was younger, but I haven't in a while."

"It's just a little hobby…"

"Would you mind showing me something?" she looked over at Stein, "Does the piano in your living room work?"

Stein nodded.

"I'm not very good," Soul muttered, looking down at his clean plate, "I don't think-"

"Please, Soul?" Marie asked.

Maka's eyes lit up at the thought of hearing Soul play again, "Pretty Please, Soul? We haven't heard you play in such a long time."

"I," the albino looked down, "suppose."

Marie smiled and the group made their way into the main room. Marie sat down on the seat next to Soul and watched as he slowly began to play.

Notes reverberated from the chords deep within the piano, forming a low, silky melody. The harmony was done in higher note, acting only as a slight accessory to the low, rich voice of the melody. As Soul continued to play, Marie found herself closing her eye so she could focus on the music and nothing else. Soul continued to play as deep shades of violet floated through Marie's mind with each note, accented by sharp flecks of intense blue. Beautiful. This boy had created something truly beautiful.

When the symphonic noise finally ended, the small group clapped in awe.

"Soul that was," Marie smiled, "Beautiful."

The teenage boy only blushed, "It's kind of an old piece I taught to myself before I got so sick. It's nothing special."

Marie smiled wider. He was so humble.

The doctor only smiled as he stood in the back, farther away from everyone else. He was quite proud of the children. They had played into his little charade flawlessly. Marie suspected nothing. Not even a whiff of suspicion. Such a foolish woman. Unable to sense danger for the life of her. She was the helpless gazelle and he was the alpha lion.

And there would be no escape.

A/N: A boring chapter, but the next one should be a bit more exciting.


	6. Nightmare

Chapter 6: Nightmare

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

"St-Stein~!" Marie's head arched back as her single brown eye widened, "A-A-Ah~!"

One of her hands wound tight up into the soft gray sheets, gripping it until her knuckles were white. The other hand came up and braced into his back, her pointed nails digging into his pale, sweat-glazed flesh. The doctor's warm breath caressed down the sweaty skin of her neck as she climaxed around him, leaving the blonde breathless in his arms.

"Marie…" The doctor smiled as he pulled up to look down at his treasure. Her eye was half lidded as she looked back up at her silver haired lover. Her well-cultivated body trembled beneath him.

"St-Stein…" She could only exhale his name as the waves of pleasure steadily passed from her body.

"Yes?" He was hardly panting; pleasing her was nothing to him.

"I…I Love…" Her voice got weaker as her single eye began to drift closed, "I Love you…"

And then she was asleep beneath him.

…...

Soul lay looking up at the ceiling in his room with the light turned off. Patterns of red danced in his vision. He had never thought he could feel such a strong hatred for the doctor. The albino had hated him before, but now that hatred had intensified. Ms. Marie was far nicer than any of them had anticipated. No person on the planet deserved the things that Stein did; but Marie especially didn't. She was the nicest person any of them had ever met. Stein couldn't do this to anyone else. But he was going to. And there was nothing any of them could do to stop him.

…...

The singularly eyed blonde lay strapped to a metal table in the center of Dr. Franken Stein's laboratory. Her soft brow eye widened in fear as the doctor secured the straps down, pressing her perky chest painfully tight to the cool metal.

Tears pooled from the young woman's eye as she trembled in fear. She had never been so afraid; not even when her father had lost it, "S-St-Stein…I…I don't understand. Wh-Why are you d-doing this?"

The doctor held up a gleaming pair of deadly sharp sewing scissors before snipping them experimentally, "Now Miss Marie," The doctor ran his finger along the blade of the scissors, causing a thin cut to trace his finger. "You'll have to be much more specific."

The blonde only felt more tears streak her face.

"Stein…" her wrists strained against the bonds that held her, "Why do you have me strapped down to this table?" The tears flowed more heavily, "Why are you acting this way?"

The doctor only chuckled, "My dear, Marie," He held up a scalpel and made a few practice strokes through the hair before he polished his blade on the corner of his lab coat, "Surely you must've know what you were getting into."

Her single brown eye widened.

"I am an experimental doctor after all," His eyelids lowered as he brought his face down inches from hers to meet her eyes, "Did you honestly think that I was a licensed physician who'd taken the Hippocratic oath and saw wrong in harming the innocent? In all actuality I'm just a sick version of a coroner for the living. I won't kill you, though. That would be a waste of a perfectly good test subject; and it can be a challenge to obtain the so easily. Not to mention you are a rather healthy female adult. I'm far to used to sickly children to pass up this opportunity," He pulled away and smirked as she pushed his glasses up his nose, "So in reality, there's absolutely only one thing I want from you."

Marie flinched at his words.

"I want to dissect you, of course."

The tears stopped completely on the blonde's face. She was more than scared now. She felt betrayed by a person that she thought loved her. It made her want to throw up.

"Oh but I assure you my dear, you won't fall asleep or get sick," he smiled as he slid two needles into either side of her neck, "This solution will make sure of that. It's something of my own creation you see. It took me a few tries to get it right, but it should keep you fully awake, nerve cells in tact, bile and hydrochloric acid in your stomach, heart beating, adrenaline rushing through your veins, the whole package. But I suppose the best way to sum it up is," His eyelids lower as a maddening chuckle escaped his lips, "You'll be awake, you'll stay alive," he cupped her jaw and jerked her head up roughly to meet his crazed olive-gold eyes, "And you'll feel every single thing."

"N-No!" Marie had suddenly gone into panic mode; trying her best to escape, "St-Stop! Don't do this! Please!"

"But my dear, sweet, Marie," the doctor picked up his marker and uncapped the lid with his teeth, "It's already begun."

He made a few decisive strokes with his maker across the skin of her back, deciding the best place to make the first incision in her scarless skin. Marie shuttered as the cool tip of the marker grazed over her back. After roughly five minutes, the doctor had drawn enough lines to choose from. He recapped the marker and quickly replaced it with a scalpel.

He slid the sharpened blade effortlessly down the blonde's back, making a thick cut from the nape of her neck to the small of her back down the direct line of her spine. Marie let out a bloodcurdling scream as she felt the blade rip through her. Tears streamed like a faucet down her face. The doctor repeated his cut, tearing through not only her skin, but her muscle and blood vessels as well. The doctor felt her warm A negative pour over his gloved hands. He shuddered in pleasure at the feeling and sight of all the liquid crimson. It was 100% the truth when he said this was his favorite color.

The doctor finally ceased his incision when he had reached her vertebral column. There within the skin of her back lay all thirty-three of her vertebrae, just for him to toy and play with. They were all in such perfect condition. The doctor let out a sadistic smile as he ran the flat of his scalpel down all thirty-three lovely bones to hear the satisfying, but somewhat musical, noise of her spine. The noise would have made any sane persons' skin crawl.

"Ah, Miss Marie," The doctor ran the flat of his blade down her spinal column once more, "You would make a lovely musical instrument, wouldn't you agree?"

Marie didn't respond as more tears streamed down her face. She could feel an odd tingling down her back. She could hear the sick 'plink' as she felt it; but she wasn't quite sure what he was doing and she sure didn't want to.

"Ah," He pushed her skin further back, "There are your kidneys. They were trying to hide from me." The doctor took a moment to study the organs before moving past them, "You should be pleased to know that your kidney's look fabulous."

Not exactly bad news, but still not something that you typically want to hear.

The doctor continued on with his dissection with his hands, reaching down into the woman's body. His hands eventually came to rest on her heart.

Marie gasped and whimpered at the feeling of his hands, "St-Stein…that's my-"

"Heart," Stein gripped it a bit more firmly, "I'm aware…" The silver haired doctor smirked as he felt it's rate of beating increase just by him holding it.

"You're blood type is A negative, correct?"

Marie felt a blush coat her already red cheeks, "Y-Yes."

"Your heart is rather strong for a woman," He noted aloud, "That's quite impressive."

"Let me go," she sobbed, "Please let me go."

He let go of her heart and slid his hands out of her body so he could meet her eyes, "But Miss Marie," He turned the screw in his head back slightly, "I simply cannot do that. If I did, I would face nothing but problems."

…...

The doctor awoke from his dream when he heard the shrill scream beside him of none other than Marie.

"Marie."

He nearly growled in frustration at the interruption of his fantasy of splitting the woman open.

"Marie."

He had to act like he really cared, or his cover would be well past blown.

"Marie," He cradled her in his arms, "It's okay."

She slowly awoke in his arms with a sob in her throat, "I-I.."

"It's okay…" He stroked her hair, "Just a nightmare…"

…...

A/N: Sorry it's so short! It hasn't been updated in a while and I'm so so so sorry! I'm going to try to get better at updating and writing longer chapters and such, SO PLEASE BEAR WTH ME! I love you all and I will see you in the next chapter!


	7. Willow Tree

Chapter 7: Willow Tree

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

"It really was nice to meet you all," Marie smiled as she looked over the children as they all stood in the living room, "I hope to see you all again very soon."

The children all smiled and nodded.

"Perhaps we could come visit you sometime, Miss Marie," Patty smiled at the blonde haired woman with her bright blue eyes sparkling. Liz tensed. _No Patty. You shouldn't have said that._

"That would be lovely," Marie smiled, "Perhaps we could all go to the zoo sometime, Patty."

Patty nodded, "That would be fun!"

Marie smiled. The children were so sweet. She gave a small wave over her shoulder before she turned to Stein.

"Goodbye, Stein," She looked in his eyes before she pressed a brief kiss to his lips before pulling away, "Perhaps we could make plans for the weekend."

"That would be nice." He grinned, "Goodbye, Miss Marie."

The door closed and she went back to her hotel room. The house suddenly felt dark again. A coldness settled into the children's hearts' that they had almost forgotten was there. Almost.

"Patricia," The doctor's hard voice was the first thing to rip the silence apart.

"Yes, Doctor Stein?" The young girl asked, unaware of what was wrong. Liz felt her arm instinctively come around Patty's bony frame.

"Why did you say that to Miss Marie?"

"Huh?" Patty said, obviously confused.

Stein moved closer so that he was no longer at an anywhere near the bounds of comfortable distance, "Why did you tell Miss Marie that you may want to come visit her?"

"Oh, I-"

"Are you planning on running away?"

"No, but-"

"Do you think you could survive on your own?"

"Doctor Stein, I was-"

"Do you think you could honestly pass for _normal?!"_

Liz pulled Patty closer to her, clenching her teeth in an effort not to say anything.

"ANSWER ME, PATRICIA!"

Tears welled at the corners of the young girl's eyes and spilled over her cheeks, "I'm sorry Doctor Stein; I didn't mean-"

The slap echoed through the room. Before he grabbed her arm with and iron grip and pulled her away from Liz so hard that you could hear the snap of her frail bones. She let out a scream and thrashed in his hold.

"LIZ! LIZ!" She screamed as he pulled her down the hallway, "LET ME GO! LIZ!"

"PATTY!" Liz reached for her, but didn't run after her, "PA-"

"If you value the people around you, Elizabeth, then I strongly suggest you BACK AWAY!" The doctor snapped as he forced Patty into a room and slammed the door shut.

Liz immediately felt thick waves of tears roll down her cheeks. She hadn't watched her close enough. She'd slipped up. And now it was too late.

"Liz," Kid sat a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, "Liz…"

"I'm fine," She shook of Kid's hand with a sharp jerk and took off down the hallway towards her and Patty's room before she slammed the door shut.

…

Marie stood at the cash register as she rang up the man's order, "So that's one mocha cappuccino with two shots of espresso and a blueberry scone?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the man responded, looking at her with his sharp green eyes.

"That'll be $4.68," She smiled before looking at the man and stopping, "Hold on a moment. I think I know you." She snapped her fingers, "You're the host that I was talking to on my date with Stein last week!"

The man looked up from his wallet, "Oh, Yeah, that." He looked down, "How did the date go?"

"Just fine," Marie smiled, "so how have you been?" She took the money and slid it into the register.

"Okay, I guess," He sighed.

"There was something you we're going to tell me," She slid his cappuccino over the counter to him shortly followed by his scone, "About Stein."

"MARIE! You're paid to serve customers! NOT chitchat with them!" Marie heard her boss shout from the kitchen.

"Yes Ma'am!" Marie shouted back and looked down.

"Sorry to bother you, Sir," but he was already gone.

…

"Should we make it so that you can't run?" Stein asked as he paced across the room, twirling his scalpel skillfully in his hand, "Or maybe so you can't speak? Perhaps I can make it so you could no longer appear even as mildly normal."

Patty didn't say a single word; she just lay there strapped to the table with tears streaking her face. The cold metal chilled her scar covered skin. She looked up at the bright surgical lights above her and didn't mind how bad they burned through her sight. She wanted to feel the warmth of light, even though it wasn't really there. She wanted to be alive, but not here. Not like this.

"How about all three?" Stein proposed, walking towards her and setting the scalpel on the table, "How does that sound, Patricia?"

She looked over to him, meeting his crazed olive-gold eyes. Then she clenched her fist and growled at him in an almost inhuman voice, "I hope you rot."

The doctor looked at her only a brief second before he picked up a muscle clamp and secured it around her thigh and cackled, "Patricia you know that I'm rotten to the core. I'm like an apple you get from the grocery store. I'm covered in that shiny, red wax to make me appear beautiful like everyone else; on the inside I'm wormy and rotten and gross."

She glared up at him.

"Besides, I can't help but wonder what other people are like. They're so fascinating after all, and I can't very well dissect myself," Then he thought off to the side, "Well I suppose I could, but it would be quite difficult to see what my insides are like. Not only that, but if I'm so rotten on the inside, why would others want to study me anyways?" He raised his brows in such a way as if he meant the question literally, "Then again, I bet the insides of a person like me are quite interesting. All twisted and tangled and corrupted. I wonder what color they are…" He thought aloud as he made a preliminary cut across the young girl's thigh.

Patty let out a blood-curdling scream as the scalpel ripped through her skin along with her first few layers of muscle. Her blood oozed from the cut as her back arched away from the table, but was held down by the tight leather straps. Her blue eyes widened so far that it didn't seem possible. Tears slew from her eyes as she screamed.

"Patricia, you're screaming is so lovely," The doctor smirked as he sliced through another layer of her muscle, causing more blood to spill onto the cold metal table. Her screams resonated louder through the room as she arched her head back further. She could hear him slicing through each tissue in her leg. She'd hear him laugh. She kept on screaming until her throat was raw.

Her tear ducts ran dry and eventually she could hardly feel the pains of him slicing through her leg. Her vision was going fuzzy. She panted and focused on her breathing in an effort to slow her far too quickly beating heart.

Then the room was silent.

Except for the flat and steady continuous beep from her heart monitor.

…

Marie's phone vibrated across her dresser in her hotel room, causing her to jolt awake without even the slightest bit of warning.

The young blonde woman looked around her room in a panic as she fumbled to find the lamp that was on the wall beside her. Her heart beat insanely fast within her chest, even as she got the lights to turn on. She could have sworn she'd felt her father's fingers around her throat. She could hear herself screaming. She felt so sticky and sweaty. She panted as her fingers skittered across the nightstand, groping for her vibrating cell phone until she finally found it and flipped it open without even looking at the ID.

"H-Hello?" She asked, resting her forehead on her palm. _Calm down, Marie._

"Marie? It's Stein."

"Stein?" She immediately perked up, fluffing her hair back in a way meant to make her look more attractive, even though he couldn't actually see her, "It's 2:30 in the morning. Why are you calling so late?"

"I wanted to ask if you're busy today."

"Stein, I'm swamped with work right now. I thought you wanted to get together this weeke-"

"Patty passed away. We wondered if you could come for the burial."

Marie froze and felt her heart drop in her chest like deadweight. Patty passed away? Poor little Patty? The little blonde headed girl with bright blue eyes who loved animals so much? The little girl who'd she'd planned to go to the zoo with? That Patty?

Marie felt hot tears flow down her cheeks. She'd only had second stage arthritic cancer, which Stein was curing. How could she have passed away when Marie had seen her healthy and happy only hours before?

"H-How-"

"The cancer had progressed to her spinal column and up into her brain before I was able to detect it."

Marie felt her hand come up and wipe her eyes, "I'll come over tonight as soon as I can."

"Marie, you don't have to."

"Liz must be dying on the inside right now. I'll be over soon."

Marie clicked the end call button and climbed out of bed slowly and shuffled to the shower. Her tears following after.

…

Liz didn't sleep that night.

As soon as the sun rose she crossed over to the room where Patty's body lay in a hastily crafted wooden coffin. She nearly burst into tears at the sight of the body, but refused to show weakness and give Stein the satisfaction he wanted.

She ran her fingers through her younger sister's soft strands of blonde hair.

"Patty," She smiled and kissed her forehead, "I'm so happy you aren't hurting anymore."

Liz dressed her sister by herself. She slid her into a long, soft pink skirt and did up the buttons of her darker pink blouse. She ran her fingers through Patty's short strands of blonde hair and clipped a dark red clip into the side of her sister's bangs.

She smiled and stroked the dead girl's cheek, "You look so beautiful, Patty."

Kid offered a friendly smile as he walked into the room in his clean white dress shirt and black pants for the funeral, "She really does, Liz."

Liz was only slightly startled at the sight of him. She looked at him and without warning threw her arms around him and broke into a sobbing mess. He hugged her close to him and rubbed her back in gentle circles.

"I'm really sorry that this happened, Liz…"

She clung to his shirt as her sobs slowed. She nodded because it was the only thing she could manage to do in response.

After what seemed like a brief eternity, Kid pulled them out of their embrace and looked up into Liz's eyes.

"You should go put on your dress, Liz."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, "Y-Yeah…" she shook her head lightly, "Y-Yeah your right."

After a few more moments, Liz reluctantly left the room to change into her soft black dress for the funeral.

"Can I tell you something?" Kid froze at the cold but ever so familiar voice that came from the doorway. Tsubaki.

Kid turned and looked over at the older girl with concern. Something in her voice sounded far more down than usual. Her usually matted black hair hung in a thin black curtain around her face. She wore a long-sleeved black sweater that draped down over her wrists along with a long pair of black slacks beneath it. Her deceptive blue eyes looked darker than normal as she entered the room, crossing so that she was arm's length from Kid.

"Kid, this isn't going to be last time he kills one of us."

"I'm aware."

"There's something he wants, and I don't want to be a part of it," Tsubaki sat her hand on the edge of Patty's coffin, "I'm leaving soon. You should come with me."

"I…" Kid felt every muscle in his body spring and then tense, "I can't. I can't leave my family behind to the clutches of that madman."

She scoffed, pushing her hair back over her shoulder, "Suit yourself."

And then she disappeared out of the room.

…

Marie stood at the edge of the yard between Kid and Soul as Liz continued shoveling the dirt over her younger sister's coffin. They had decided to burry Patty beneath the willow tree that grew in the backyard; next to where they had buried Black*Star almost two years ago. The memories of him were faint, but still there.

Marie found it odd that Stein wasn't at the funeral. In all actuality, Marie hadn't seen Stein at all since she got here. The children said he had locked himself up in his laboratory and hadn't some out with the exception of his phone call he had made to her earlier that morning. She had assumed he had been brooding over the death of one of his patients, but something didn't feel right; it was just the opposite.

Something felt very, very wrong.

A/N: I really do apologize for the length of time between my last posts. I got busy and then this just exploded out of me within a week. It was weird. Anyways, I'm hoping that all of you readers are still enjoying this story. I'm going to try to become more frequent on writing this story. Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	8. Brooding

Chapter 8: Brooding

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

The doctor still hadn't left his private office when Marie woke up in between the stitched grey sheets as the sun rose the next morning. She woke up and pulled on one of Stein's stitched t-shirts over her head as well as her jeans from when she'd first arrived for the funeral. She ran her fingers through her long strands of honey-blonde hair before she stepped out into the kitchen only to see Kid scrubbing dishes in the sink.

"K-Kid?" she asked, rubbing her good eye with the back of her hand, "What are you doing?"

The raven haired teen looked over his shoulder at the woman before resuming his work, "Good morning, Miss Marie. I'm just doing the dishes from last night."

"By yourself?" she asked, walking closer to him, "Don't you want some help?"

"That's okay, Miss Marie," he said as he continued to scrub the dishes in the grey and only slightly rusted sink, "I do this all the time."

"Here," she came up and pulled the dirty white towel from Kid's back pocket before standing beside him, "You wash, I'll dry."

The movement of the towel behind him made him jump. He abruptly turned and looked at her, offering a nervous laugh, "You don't have to do that."

She picked up a white plate and began drying it, "You kids never let me do anything. This is the very least I can do."

Kid sighed, running his wet fingers through his raven hair before he resumed washing, "Fine. I guess that'll be alright."

So Marie dried as Kid washed.

"Hey, Kid?" Marie asked as she moved a stack of the dry, white plates into the stitched cupboard, "Can I ask you something?"

_That all depends on the question, _"Of course you can, Miss Marie."

"What's the reason that you stay here? Nothing seems to be wrong with you." She looked over her shoulder at Kid as she closed the grey stitched doors. Her question was me with an answer of silence, "Forgive me if I'm intruding."

He shook his head, "You could never intrude, Miss Marie," He resumed washing a fork from the sink, "I am here because…" Damn it, Kid! Now you have to give her an answer! Think of something! Think! Think! THINK! "I have heart problems. They aren't severe enough to keep me abed, but to severe to allow me to leave for extended periods of time."

"Oh," the blonde looked down at the cold, linoleum floor, "I see. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's no big deal, Miss Marie. You shouldn't feel sorry."

"Just Marie."

He turned his head to look at her, "What?"

"I want you kids to call me Marie; no 'Miss' in front of it. It makes me either feel old or like a teacher. And I am neither. I am you're friend."

Kid smiled inwardly, but then nearly smacked himself for smiling. She was too nice for this. She deserved better; much better, "Alright…Marie."

The blonde smiled, "That's better."

…

Chrona sat on the floor of her room with a little black book in hand.

_Angel Wings, Broken Dreams, and Fluttered Heartbeats,_

_Rusted Things, Black Rings, and Emotions Incomplete,_

_Raven-Haired, Golden Eyed and Kind Cold Hands,_

_Damaged Smile, Half a Heart, and Words that aren't Bland,_

_Burning Tears, Haunting Fears, and Blood-Stained Floors,_

_All the Years, Locked up Here, Behind Closed Doors,_

_Trembling, Remembering, Things that Don't Come Clear,_

_Holding Close, Loving Most, The Man that I hold Dear._

_Razor Blades, Pale Skin, and A sicker mind than Most,_

_It's a Fight, Every Night; I always get to Close,_

_End it now, I don't know how, or what he would think_

"_Stop" he says, he takes my hand, my cheeks start to go pink,_

_Blood drips down, he looks at me, and "It will be okay."_

_I look away; he says to me, "It'll stop someday."_

_He holds me close, He holds me tight, and then I start to Cry,_

_He strokes me hair, he whispers my name, "Don't make me say Goodbye."_

_I look at him, he looks at me, and my heart stifles a Sob,_

_He looks in my eyes, for affirmation, All I do is Nod,_

_He walks away; He goes to sleep, leaving me in the Dark,_

_I bite my lip, I know it's wrong, But his care has made its Mark._

_I shake my head, I cross my heart, and Say that it's not true,_

_His love for me, does not exist, there is no "I love you."_

_I sit in bed, he in my head, and clutch my beating heart,_

_ This hell that this whole world is, it tears us apart. _

The pinkette wanted to cry just looking at the poem she had written. The thing was that all of her poems made her feel this way. Her poems were always this sad. And they were almost always about one of three things: Death, Pain, or Kid.

But now that she had written such a poem, she couldn't decide what to call it. There were too many options, too many titles for her to choose from. It would probably be the easiest to just leave it untitled like all the rest. But for some reason, to her, it didn't seem right to leave the poem untitled. It needed a name.

"Chrona?" Maka called from the sitting room, "Can you come help me dust?"

"S-Sure!" she called back. But before she left, she scrawled something at the top of her page:

_ Love, Death, and Kid_

…...

"Stein?" Marie called, holding a steel tray in her hands "Is everything okay in there? You haven't come out all day."

There was no response as the Blonde stood outside the door, "I made you some coffee; black like you like it. And I managed to scrape up the ingredients to make a decent sandwich and a nice pot of soup."

There was still no answer. Marie shifted her weight between her two feet, "Stein, Please open the doo-"

"Go away, Marie," his voice sounded dead; almost angry.

"Stein, if you would just talk to m-"

"GO THE FUCK AWAY MARIE!"

Marie backed away in a sudden jolt; the tray clattered to the ground, spilling its contents over the grey, linoleum floor. She backed away from the door, her single brown eye wide with her pupils shaking. Her fingers trembled and curled up to her icy palms.

_How could I have been so stupid? _She thought. _I checked out of my hotel room and brought my bag here this afternoon. I have nowhere to go now, so what the hell do I do?_

"Marie?" Soul looked at her with confused eyes, "What is it? What's wrong?"

She didn't say a word. She just wrapped her arms around herself and sank to her knees. She trembled as a single stream of tears trailed down her cheek. She dug her fingers into the black fabric of her sweater.

"Marie! What's wrong?" Soul asked again, moving closer to her. Kid now crouched on the other side of her, lightly shaking her shoulder and asking what was wrong. But she couldn't respond; not even if she wanted to.

…

"Damn it, Will! If you'd put down the whiskey bottle once in a while, you might be able to hold a job!" A nine year old Marie curled beneath her quilt as she lay in her bed.

"Will you get off my case, Karen? I swear, you never stop bitching about anything!" She curled up tighter at the sound of her father's slurred voice booming from downstairs.

"Just cut the shit with me! How could you get fired again?!"

"I went to work shit faced. Deal with it!"

Marie planted her pillow down over her head in an attempt to cut out the noise. She hated it when they fought. She hated it when they screamed. She hated it when he was drunk.

"Back to my original point! If you'd put the damn bottle down every once in a while you could hold a freaking job!"

Then there was the audible slap; Marie flinched as the sound seared all the way up to her bedroom.

"Will you shut up you crazy bitch?!"

"Don't talk to me that way, Will!"

"Or what?!"

"I'll take Marie and leave!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Marie felt tears spring from her eyes. She hated it when they fought, but she was more afraid of living without one of them.

She sprang up and bolted down the stairs.

Before a word even came out of her mouth she was met by a harsh slap at the hands of her father, "GO THE FUCK AWAY, MARIE! JUST GO BACK TO BED!"

…..

Tsubaki looked at the small gray bag which held the clothes that she thought could make her pass as normal along with a small wad of cash she's accumulated over time. She pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail before pulling on her black sweater. She was getting out. She was getting out now.

She picked up a Black*Star's pocketknife and slid it into her jeans before she laced up her boots. She was going to carve a better life for herself. She tied the bag shut and picked it up.

_Goodbye. I'll never forget you._

Tsubaki sat poised at the window ledge, ready to drop down to the ground below and escape.

"Tsubaki?"

The raven haired girl tensed. Was she caught? Was she dead? Should she jump and save herself from the torture?

"Tsubaki, I want to go with you."

The older girl looked over her shoulder to see none other than Liz standing in the door wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt and black denim jeans. Tsubaki looked her twice over.

"Liz-"

"I'm going," she pulled her small black bag over her shoulder, "Rather it's with you or not."

The ravenette smiled, "Welcome aboard."

…..

A/N: I know this chapter is shorter, but I got the point across that I wanted to with it. I love this story so much, even though it's one of my most difficult to write. I think it may be my new favorite because of how unique it is. STOP TOOTING YOUR OWN HORN, TSUKIKO! Sorry ^^'.

But I'm going to try to start updating this story more often because it seems like the ideas are suddenly flowing very clearly and I'm pretty sure I know what all is going to happen. The ending is finally starting to piece together, but I don't think it ever would have if I didn't have such wonderful readers. So thank you for reading this story, no matter how twisted it may become.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


	9. Captured

Chapter 9: Captured

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Marie slumped against the door with her arms wrapped around her trembling frame. She had already locked the bedroom door, but she still couldn't stop crying. She could hear Kid cleaning up the contents of the tray just down the hall. She could hear Soul practicing the piano with his feeble fingers — the notes shaking slightly. She could hear Maka and Chrona taking as they cleaned up the living room. Everyone had a place here — everyone except her.

She stood up to stretch her legs before she walked to the bathroom that was conjoined with the bedroom. She decided that a shower was probably best. She's shower and then she'd take a taxi to a new town. She'd go somewhere better and leave the hellish world this was behind: it's not like this was the first time.

…

The two girls walked down the quiet streets of the Death City night life. They hadn't seen another person since they'd passed the town's only market, and even there a majority of the town had made itself scarce.

"Tsubaki?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Don't you think it's just a little weird that we've hardly seen anyone?" Liz looked over her shoulder as the continued to walk.

"If I remember correctly, Death City didn't have much of a night life."

"But something doesn't feel right here," Liz followed her; "Shouldn't there at least be someone?"

Tsubaki turned around and looked at the younger girl, "Will you keep your voice down, Liz. We need to get to the train station, and we aren't going to get there if you keep on talking."

Liz swallowed, "Alright."

Without any more words, the girls continued to walk.

…

Detective Albarn sat at his desk with manila folders scattered over its oaky surface. His cup of coffee lay untouched and running cold at the corner of his desk as he skimmed over the file he'd received earlier this morning.

_Missing Teenage Girl Reported Missing After Three Years by Brother_

_Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, fifteen at the time, was working as a maid in Death City when she disappeared. It wasn't until three years later; she was reported missing by her brother, Masamune. Masamune said that she had moved in with her mother at the age of fourteen, but didn't return home after her mother's passing. The younger sibling told her brother that she'd return home by the age of eighteen, and that she wouldn't be reachable by phone or mail until then. Two months after her turning of legal age, Masamune went to find his sister in Death City. The landlady of the building she had been living in told him she'd moved out three years ago. So far there are no suspects on this case other than Nakatsukasa, but the police are still investigating._

'Why would someone not be reported until three years after they'd gone missing?' The scarlet haired detective thought as he strummed his fingers on the surface of his desk. All the cases he worked were similar: Children that had gone missing in the past twelve years. He sighed and glanced at the photo that rested at the far end of his desk and smiled.

His life had been so much different before they had come into his life. Sure, he'd been working as a detective, but he'd been working a lot less and sleeping around a lot more. Then when he found out two of those girls were pregnant, well, he changed some. He took in the two kids without any help: Maka and Soul.

They were four years old when they'd wandered away from him and disappeared. He'd never stopped looking. The memories were clear of them. The way Maka would climb up over his chair and into his lap while he was working. The way soul would sit clung to his leg when he was typing. They were two of the best kids anyone could have wanted.

And he was going to find them. Not matter what.

…

Marie stepped out of the shower with a towel around her body. She looked in the mirror before pulling on her eye patch. She shivered and looked down at the white and gray counter. She needed to get out of here.

Her toes curled when she stepped onto the cold bedroom floor and crossed to her suitcase. Just get dressed and leave. That's all there was to it.

"Marie?"

She froze and turned, clutching the towel to her body. He was standing in the doorway, his eyes focusing on her. She felt like a deer being stalked by a lion.

"Marie," He took a step forward, causing her to tense up, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

She looked to the side, "Don't apologize, I'm a nuisance. I was going to leave anyways."

"But why?" he tilted his head and moved closer, "Why would you leave when you've got me here?"

She looked away as his fingers traced her jaw, "Because I don't belong here, Stein." She turned from his hold.

"Marie," he pinned her to the bed in one swift movement, her towel falling open and exposing her skin to the cool air, "You know that I love you."

"Stein," She blushed as she exhaled his name, "I-I."

"Shhh…" Stein whispered as his fingers traced her bare skin, "You don't have to say anything else."

And so the one-eyed blonde had been captured once again by the doctor.

…

Chrona lay curled up in her bed, her eyes tracing over the scars that littered her wrists. The moon shone across the room through her dirty window. She couldn't help but think of Kid as she lay there without sleep: it seemed that he was all she thought about. Perhaps if she wasn't so shy she could let him know how she felt…but that was the problem wasn't it? She was far too shy to tell him…

A rap of thunder shook the laboratory and lighting darted across the sky outside. Chrona bolt upright. How could it have been storming? Had she fallen asleep? What was going on?

"Chrona!"

The frail girl jumped as the banging on her door drew her attention from the weather. The knock came again, "Are you alright in there?"

The pinkette stood and walked shakily to her door before pulling it open to find a very worried Maka standing on the other side, "M-Maka? What's going on?"

Maka grabbed Chrona's shoulders and gave them a light shake, "Have you seen Liz and Tsubaki? I can't find them anywhere and this storm is raising some serious hell!"

Chrona shook her head, "I've been in here."

"Never mind that!" Maka pulled her from the room and down the hall, "We have to get into the cellar!"

Chrona went willingly as Maka flew open the door and the two went down into the cellar to meet Soul and Kid. _Kid…_

"Did you find Tsubaki and Liz?" Marie's voice asked from the far corner as she sat next to Stein.

Maka shook her head, mousy hair whipping in the darkness. She seated herself between Soul and Kid, curling close to them both. Chrona stood there, frame trembling as she looked at Kid, unsure of what to do.

"Chrona?" Kid looked at her, tipping his head to the side slightly, "Is everything okay?"

The pinkette swiftly nodded and sat beside him swiftly, "S-S-Sorry…"

The two adolescents sat side by side in silence. Chrona's stick-like frame trembled as she sat curled up.

Thunder boomed above them, causing the laboratory to shake. Chrona let out an involuntary shriek and covered her ears whilst trembling violently. Her powder blue eyes went wide as she shook.

"I need to make a phone call," the doctor stood and walked to the phone upstairs. He wasn't going to start let victims getting away now.

…

Tsubaki walked through the train station with Liz following shortly behind her. They each held a ticket in hand and their bags on their shoulders. The ravenette peered over her shoulder once again; the police officer that had been at the front counter was still giving them a strange look.

"Tickets please?" the security officer asked as she stopped at the door to the train. Tsubaki looked up at her and handed the officer the ticket. The officer gave her a look before stopping her from entering, "I believe you'll have to come with me."

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update this. I finally got a good motivation factor to work on it and the next chapter is already partially written in my head. I'll try my very best to have it ups soon. Please review and let me know what you think.

Love Always,

Tsukiko-Chama


	10. And Found

Chapter 10: …And Found

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Tsubaki sat in a chair with her right wrist handcuffed to the arm of it. Her eyes whirled around the room in sharp focus; why was she here? It had to have been for one of two reasons: either Stein had called the police, or it was something not nearly that terrible.

Liz was in the other room, probably sitting on a bench being watched as she waited for the news on Tsubaki.

Experimentally, she giggled her wrist against the cuff; it didn't come off. She leaned back in the chair and reached back. Bingo- she had a bobby pin.

The door clanked open and Tsubaki straightened back. The man that walked in smiled and reached for his keys.

"Now, damn it, I told them that you weren't a prisoner," He shut the door and walked up to her, "Miss Nakatsukasa, I'm sorry they did this to you," He set his hand on the handcuff, "Please don't run away, I'm detective Spirit Albarn."

She nodded, "I won't run away if you promise not to hurt me or my friend."

"Of course," he said, unlocking the cuff, "I just want to talk."

"What about?" she pulled her wrist away, rubbing it lightly. Detective Albarn was a tall man, built similarly to Dr. Stein, with long scarlet hair and soft blue eyes. He wore a suit and smiled kindly at her.

"Well," He opened a file and held a picture out to her, "Do you know this man?"

Tsubaki's eyes dropped to the photograph. In it, there was a man with long raven hair and deep blue eyes. His pale skin clung to his bony face as he looked into the camera. Her slim, creamy fingers traced the photograph, "Masamune…"

He smiled, "Masamune, that's right."

She stood up, kicking the chair back and pulling Black*Star's knife out and pointing it at the scarlet haired detective, "What have you done to my brother?"

Spirit only chuckled and lowered the knife with his fingers, "I assure you that your brother is just fine, Miss Nakatsukasa. In fact," He stood and set his hand over hers, "I can take you to him if you like."

…

"Chrona…"

The pinkette lay curled on the ground, her slender form shaking from the storm. Kid leaned over and shook her shoulder gently.

"Chrona, are you asleep?"

She mewled slightly under the shake of her shoulder. He stopped, figuring he must've been dreaming. He pulled his hand away and looked at her sleeping figure. Her pink hair hung over her face. He reached over and tucked the angel-soft strands of pink hair behind her ear.

"Mmm…" She nuzzled his touch in her sleep, causing him to smile lightly. Chrona was like a small kitten sometimes: a very timid, jumpy kitten.

"Kid?" Maka asked from her seat sleepily, "What are you doing?"

He came back up beside her, "It's nothing."

…...

"Masamune?" Tsubaki's eyes went wide before she ran into the arms of her brother, "Masamune!"

The young man held his sister tightly in his arms as if she were his anchor to the world. He looked over at the scarlet haired detective and mouthed a thank you.

Detective Albarn only nodded wearing a smile on his face. This was something that made him really happy: seeing people reunited with their loved ones.

"Tsubaki?" Liz asked, "Um, what's going on?"

"Well you see," Spirit explained, "That man there is Masamune Nakatsukasa. He's Tsubaki's older brother and he's been looking for her for quite some time."

"Oh…" Liz looked down, "I see."

"And can I ask what your name is?" Spirit asked kindly.

"Elizabeth Thompson," She kept her eyes on her shoes, "Or just Liz."

Spirit's eyes widened, "Elizabeth Thompson from Los Angeles California?"

"Um, yeah," She looked at him, "How did you know that?"

"Is Patricia with you?" He asked, setting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked away, "No sir…Patty died recently."

"Oh," He turned the touch of her shoulder to a comforting squeeze, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"But," She looked at him, "How do you know about me and my sister?"

He smiled and shook her hand, "Detective Albarn. I work on cases of missing children, and you're file has been on my desk almost nine years."

"Really?" her blue eyes widened, "People have been looking for me and Patty?"

He smiled, "Well at the very least I have. Do you have anywhere to stay until you turn eighteen?"

She shook her head, "I'll be eighteen in a few months though, and does it matter?"

"It does," He shook his head, "You could always do some work here. You'd probably end up staying with me, but you'll get some money to get your feet on the ground."

"Um…" Liz looked down, "When you say staying with you-"

"In my daughter's old room if you want to. I'm sure we could find other arrangements, but I promise that the other people that work here aren't as nice."

"Your place sounds nice, Detective Albarn."

"Please, Liz," He smiled, "Call me Spirit."

…

Marie stood in the kitchen chopping up carrots for the soup she was making. Her long blonde hair hung in a ponytail down her back as she concentrated. Her fingers were almost shaking in the anger she held towards herself. Why had she let him just take her over like that? Why hadn't she even tried to stop him? She could be so stupid at times!

"Marie?"

She turned suddenly the knife clattering to the floor in her startled movement.

"Oh, God, Soul," She clutched the fabric of her shirt over her heart, "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," He slowly made his way into the kitchen, "I didn't mean to startle you."

She managed a nervous laugh in an effort to diffuse her inner tension as she stooped to pick up the knife before washing it in the sink, "It's alright, Soul. Did you need something?"

The albino shook his head, "I just thought I heard you in here."

"Well here I am," She smiled and continued to chop the carrots, "I hope you're hungry, because the soup will be ready in just a little bit."

"Sounds great," He smiled and sat at the table.

Marie finished chopping the carrots and slid them into the pot, "So, are your wounds healing up alright?"

He nodded, "I can walk without my IV pole and get dressed without any help now."

"That's great news," She smiled and put the soup on the burner, "I'm so happy to hear that."

"Yeah," Soul managed a small smile, "Me too."

…

Maka continued scrubbing the floor of the doctor's laboratory in silence. Her stomach whimpered as she stood back up to clean another portion of the floor. Hopefully lunch would be ready soon.

She crossed the room and crouched down by a filing cabinet, scrubbing the dirt from the floor there. How could this floor be so dirty after only a few days?

She sighed and continued so scrub, crawling forward. In the process of her movements, her foot gave the filing cabinet a harsh thump, causing a box to come tumbling down. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out at the new pain surging through her foot and crawled to the box to clean up the mess she had made.

_It almost looks like school work_, she thought as she put the papers back in the box as well as a few books. Her fingers stopped as they trailed over a photograph. She picked it up and studied it. There were about six people in the picture with what appeared to be a younger version of the crazed doctor. A woman with short black hair, glasses and blue eyes, a man with blonde hair and deeper blue eyes, a pair of headphones dangling from his neck, the Stein, without the screw or the stitches, another man dressed all in black, his face covered by a skull shaped mask, a woman with long black hair dyed red at the ends with deep red eyes, and lastly a man with scarlet hair and blue eyes. She blinked and looked closer; _I think I've seen that man at the end before, but who is he?_

She flipped the picture over, finding signatures on the back: _Yumi Azusa, Justin Law, Franken Stein, Death, Sanguine Cross, _and _Spirit Albarn._

_ Albarn? That's Soul's and my last name, but why-_

Her eyes widened as she looked at the signature, her hands now shaking. _Is that our-?_

"Maka?" Chrona stuck her head into the lab, "Miss Marie says lunch is ready."

The mousy haired girl stuffed the photograph into her pocket and put the box back on the shelf, "Okay, I'm coming!"

…

Slap.

"I know that you know where they are and you just aren't telling me!" Stein's voice echoed in the small room as he shouted, "You're like their leader after all!"

Kid still refused to look him in the eyes, "I already told you, I don't know."

The doctor—if you could call him that—tipped up the teenager's chin, forcing Kid to look him in the eyes, "You best tell me. You're only making it worse on yourself, Kid."

"I don't know," Kid hissed, glaring up at the madman, "I swear I don't."

Stein let out an animalistic growl before picking the raven haired boy up by his throat, "Tell me, or I'll kill that little girlfriend of yours."

Kid wasn't even sure which of the two girls he was talking about, but he couldn't let him hurt either of them, "If you even try, I'll kill you."

Stein released an insane laugh before delivering a sharp blow to the boy's stomach, "Kill me? If you believe that you're crazier than I am."

"Stein?" Marie pushed open the door, "Stein, what's going-?

She froze, her single brown eye widening at the sight. How could the man she loved, be some kind of monster?

A/N: She doesn't even know the half of it yet and she's already freaking out. Read and Review please. I'm sorry for the wait but it's started to get far more intense.

Love Always,

Tsukiko-Chama


	11. Monster

Chapter 11: Monster

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Marie stood at the door, eyes wide and trembling. How could this be? How could the man she'd come to love be such a monster? How could he hold a hand up to innocent children? She put her hands up to cover her mouth, which hung agape.  
>"Why, hello, Marie," The doctor let go of Kid, who slid down the wall and fell to the floor in a crumpled, coughing ball, "What a lovely surprise to see you."<br>"Stein, what in the hell," She took a step back, not liking that look in his eyes. She couldn't even finish her question. He took a step closer to her, a hand slipping into his pocket and out of view.  
>"It's so nice that you would drop by and see Kid and me at this time, it is almost lunch after all," He held a white rag in his hand.<br>"Marie…" Kid's voice was nearly inaudible as he clutched his stomach. He knew what Stein would do to her. And he knew he had to stop it.  
>Faster than Marie could even blink, the doctor pulled her into her into a rough grasp, pulling the cloth to cover her mouth and nose. She tried to scream and pushed against him. She tried not to take a breath in, but the smell from the rag was making her dizzy. Her head had begun to spin and her thrashing began to weaken.<br>No…I can't let him take me over again…  
>She reawoke in a snap, shoving him back against his desk. There was a frightening snap as the edge made contact with his lower back. Kid was already standing, hunched over, but standing nonetheless. The two quickly made their way from the room and slid the cabinet from the hallway in front of the door.<br>"Are you alright?" Marie asked, looking to the injured teen.  
>He managed a nod, but still clutched his stomach, "We have to find Chrona, Soul, and Maka."<br>SLAM.  
>They both froze and looked to the source of the noise: the door.<br>SLAM. SLAM. SLAM.  
>"Move!" Kid grabbed Marie's forearm and pulled her down the hallway and towards the bedrooms. The blonde dashed after him, and the two ducked into a different room.<br>"How can he even still be alive?" Marie asked in a shaking voice, "I heard something in his back snap."  
>Kid moved to the window pushed it open, "Dr. Stein has always been a little different from other people," He helped her out before following, "My guess is that he experimented on his own body until he got bored and decided he needed new test subjects."<br>The walked around the side of the building, sticking close to the stitched grey walls, "Experiment? Test subjects?"  
>Kid sighed, forgetting that she still didn't know everything, "We can talk about this when we're safe, alright?"<br>Marie nodded, "I can agree to that."

…

"I hope this will be okay," Spirit flicked on the light to the small, pale pink bedroom, "It was my daughter's room."  
>"I didn't know you had any kids," Liz walked into the room, "Are you married?"<br>"Actually no," The scarlet haired detective looked nervous at that response, "I have two kids, a boy and a girl."  
>"Where are they?" Liz looked around, "There's no way that their already full grown."<br>Spirit looked down, "They went missing around ten years ago."  
>"I'm so sorry, Spirit," She sat her hand on his shoulder, similarly how he had done to comfort her about Patty.<br>"That's probably the reason I work so hard to locate missing children," He smiled, "I know what it's like and I want to help as many people as I can."  
>Liz was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, "What were your children like?"<br>"They were the best kids I could have ever had," he reached into his pocket and fished out the photograph of the two of them he never left home without, "Here they are when they were little."  
>She took the photograph in her hand, and then her eyes went wide, "They look just like…" Her hands shook, and she couldn't finish her sentence.<br>"What's wrong, Liz?"  
>"What are their names?" She asked urgently, turning the photograph to him, "The boy and the girl, what were their names?"<br>"Maka and Soul," He pointed to each of them respectively, "Why, you're acting awfully jumpy."  
>"Spirit, I know where your kids are."<p>

…

Maka went through the house in a fast pace. She clutched the photograph against her chest as she walked, "Chrona? Chrona?"  
>The house was eerily quiet as she searched. Where was everyone?<br>"Chro-"  
>I pair of cold hands grabbed her and pulled her into a far room and slammed the door shut. She let out a muffled scream.<br>"Maka," Chrona's hands shook as she pulled away, "Calm down."  
>"Chrona?" Maka raided her eyebrows and shook her head, "What are you doing in here?"<br>The Pinkette placed a finger to her lips and walked the other girl to the window, "We have to go."  
>"What about Kid, Soul, and Miss Marie?"<br>"Kid and Miss Marie are already outside," She pulled the window open with increased effort.  
>"What about Soul?" Maka looked back to the bedroom door, "Where is he?"<br>"We haven't found him yet."  
>"I have to tell him something important."<br>Chrona weakly tugged her towards the window, "You can tell him once we get out of here."

…

The car sped down the highway at breakneck speed. Spirit gripped the wheel and Liz rode in the passenger seat. Four police cars trailed behind them as they continued down the street.  
>"Are you sure this is the right way?"<br>"I've been trapped in this hell for longer than you'd care to hear," She glanced out at the fields of dried up and dead plants, "I'm sure."  
>The car made a sharp turn and continued to follow the narrow road, "And you're sure that they'll be there."<br>"Yes," Liz looked straight ahead down the long road, "I'm sure."

…

"Where's Soul?" Marie looked at the three children nervously, "Is he still in there?"  
>Maka nodded, "He is. We have to get him." The emerald eye girl turned, but Marie caught her by the arm, "No. I have to get him."<br>"Marie-"  
>"I'll go," she let go of the smaller girl's arm," You three hide in the field. I'll go and get Soul."<br>The trio of teenagers nodded and headed towards the field.  
>Marie turned back to the window and pushed it open before sliding back down into the house. The air was silent and cold like a winter chill. She moved towards the door and pressed her ear against it. Nothing.<br>She stepped out and looked through the hallway. She scurried through the hall into the kitchen. She looked around. The kitchen was empty too. Where were Soul and the mad doctor?  
>"Hello, Marie," She turned in a sharp whirl, but he was already there, framing her to the counter. The knife rested on the counter only inches away from her grip, "I'm sorry that you had to see that before."<br>Her eyebrows slanted down, "Let me go, Stein."  
>"But why?" his fingers came up and traced down her jaw, "You look so beautiful when you struggle."<br>She fought back a blush and held onto her glare, "I said let me go," She pushed against him, "Now."  
>He moved back with his hands up in mock defense, "Okay, okay, if you want to be the boss, you can."<br>Her hand slid over to the knife, her fingers curling around the hilt, "Where's Soul?"  
>"Now, Marie, What do you think you're doing?"<br>"Tell me where he is," She picked up the knife, "Right now."  
>"Or what, my dear?" he stepped closer, holding her wrist, "You'll stab me? Call the authorities perhaps?"<br>She struggled against him, "I'll do whatever I need to do."  
>"I'll tell you what," He tipped his head to the side with a smirk on his face, "I'll make a deal with you."<p>

…...

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait yet again. The end is nearing! Please Review.  
>Love,<br>Tsukiko-Chama


	12. The End

Chapter 12: The End

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

* * *

><p>"I'll tell you what," He tipped his head to the side with a smirk on his face, "I'll make a deal with you."<p>

He hand shook as she tightened her grip on the knife she held, "What kind of deal?"  
>He let her go and ran his fingers hungrily though her hair, "I'll give you Soul," he smirked, "And I'll let the children go."<br>Marie froze, "For what?"  
>He smirked and pushed her back against the counter, "For you."<br>"Me?" He was struggling against him, "What would you want with me?"  
>"Well I suppose…" He shook his head, keeping the words he would have said from leaving his mouth, "I just want you."<br>Marie glanced around, catching a glimpse of Soul as he attempted to walk through the hall. How could she let these children be tortured anymore? How could she let them be hurt? She closed her eyes tightly and nodded, "All right…" A single teardrop rolled down her cheek, "Deal."

…

Soul pushed open the window and crawled out. He coughed as he struggled to pull himself across the dirt and stand. He stood and began searching through the field for the others.  
>"Soul!" Maka pulled her brother into his arms, "Oh my God, Soul!"<br>He leaned into his sister's arms, "Maka…"  
>"Where's Marie?" Kid asked, looking between the two.<br>Soul looked down, appearing to become very interested in the dirt beneath his feet, "She's still inside."  
>"What?"<br>"Stein made a trade with her," Soul looked back up at Kid, "Us for Her."  
>Kid's eyes widened, "No."<br>"I'm sorry," Soul looked at him, "I couldn't do anything."  
>"Come on," Kid held both Chrona and Maka's hand, pulling then towards the road, "We have to get help for her."<p>

…

Spirit's car made dangerously sharp turns as they continued down the road.  
>Liz gripped the walls of the car and clenched her teeth, "Jesus, Spirit, be careful. This road isn't the Indi 500."<br>"If they're there," His knuckles went white as he gripped the steering wheel, "I have to be there to get them."  
>"Spirit-"<br>"I have to," He ground his teeth together; "I have to be a better father than I was the last time."

…...

Marie tensed as Stein strapped her bare breasted down to the cold metal table. Her naked body when rigid as he strapped her legs down as well. He stepped around the table and crouched down to look into her eyes. He smirked and chuckled, his hand coming up to caress her cheek.  
>"You look lovely," He ran his fingers through her hair, "The more you struggle the more beautiful you are."<br>She glared before spitting in his face. He only laughed again and wiped it away, "This fire in you is something so new…"  
>She glared before he pulled her in for a forced kiss, "I love it. It makes you taste spicier."<br>She turned away from him, keeping her eyes to the floor, "Is this some sick fantasy of yours?" She clenched her fists at her sides, "To strap a woman down to a metal table and touch her against her will?"  
>He only chuckled as he walked back around to be behind her, "Something like that." He began to thump the tubing of a syringe harshly before setting it down on the table. He picked up his permanent marker and uncapped it before pausing, "No internal defects I should know about?"<br>She furrowed her brows in confusion, "What?"  
>"Never mind," He shook his head, "I'll find out soon enough anyways."<br>The marker ran in a decisive swoop down the contours of her spine with a bone-shilling 'screeeetch'. Marie fought the urge to shiver and kept her eyes on the floor. This is for the kids. She thought, Thinks about the Kids.  
>Stein ran a cold swab along the side of her neck before inserting a needle into her jugular. Marie bit her lip to fight away a scream. The doctor stepped around her to do the same to the partnering side of her neck. She let out a heavy breath and suddenly a blur came to swirl through her mind before everything sharpened once again, "Wh-What?"<br>"Something of my own creation really," his words danced smugly against her ear, "It's designed to keep you awake, alive, and feeling everything."  
>She shuddered at his words and turned away, "I don't understand," she began looking wildly around the room, "What's the purpose of the drugs if you're just going to tie be down and fuck me against my will?"<br>He laughed once more, harder this time, "Since when do you have such a dirty mouth, Marie?" He sat his hand on the table to keep himself from falling to the floor with his fit of laughter, "I don't just plan on sexually scaring you," He tipped his head back as he continue to laugh, his pupils shrinking at the bright light above them, "I plan on cutting you open and finding out what your insides look like!"  
>Her eyes went wide and she remembered Kid's words from before: "My guess is that he experimented on his own body until he got bored and decided he needed new test subjects."<br>"Oh my God…" Her hands shook at her sides, "Oh my God…"  
>Stein smirked at her shock, "No, just me." He picked up the syringe and shot is slightly, making sure to get the air bubbles out. He held it up to the light.<br>"What is that?" she looked at the syringe wide eyed, "What's in that syringe?"  
>He chuckled and held it to where she could see it, "You'll enjoy this much more than what's in the IV."<br>"What is it?" She hissed, studying it closely. The clear-violet liquid caught shines from the light as he turned it in his hand.  
>"Oxytocin," He smirked once more, "Or at least a synthetic version of it."<br>Marie's brows furrowed, "Oxytocin…"  
>He tipped her chin up, "It's the chemical produced in the brain after orgasm. It draws you closer to the cause of the release," He ran his fingers through her hair, "And in this case, it should make you find nearly as much pleasure in what I'm about to do to you as I will."<br>Her eyes widened, "No."  
>He slid the needle into the crook of her arm and pushed the plunger down, "Yes."<p>

….

Chrona clung to Kid's hand as they continued down the edge of the road. The wind blew through her hair and she looked up. Soft, fluffy clouds danced above them. It looked so beautiful. The sky looked so beautiful.  
>"Hey!" Kid began to wave his arms above his head, "Hey Stop!"<br>A black car was flying down the road at breakneck speed. The other three joined in, raising their arms and shouting.  
>The car slid and came to a screeching halt. The door opened and Kid looked wide eyed, "Liz?"<br>"Kid?" She held the door for a moment before running to him and holding him tightly in an embrace, "Kid!"  
>He stood there kind of awkwardly as he patted her back, "Liz, it's alright."<br>The driver of the car opened his door and got out, "Liz do you know these-"He stopped and his eyes came to rest on two of the members of the group, "Children."  
>Maka stopped and turned to look at the speaker. Her eyes went wide. The man in the photograph; that was him.<br>"Maka?" He took a step towards the children, "Soul? Is that really you?"  
>Soul was now looking as well, slightly confused, "What is it?"<br>Maka reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the picture, "Soul, Look." She pointed to the scarlet haired man in the picture, a man years younger than the one in front of them. She flipped over the photograph and pointed to his signature on the back.  
>"Albarn?" Soul glanced at her before looking at the detective, "But Albarn is our…"<br>The man nodded, "It is you," He stepped towards them before pulling them both into his arms, "Oh my God it is you."  
>Chrona and Kid glanced at each other confused.<br>Liz smiled, "That's their father."  
>Spirit pulled the photograph from Maka's hand, "Where did you get this?"<br>"From Stein's laboratory," She pointed, "That man there."  
>Spirit's eyes went wide and he looked at the other children, "That's where you were?" He pointed at Stein in the picture, "This man's laboratory?"<br>They nodded, looking at him with serious intent.  
>A few police cars and an ambulance raced past them on the street.<br>"Kids," He opened the door, "Get in the Car."

…

"St-Stein~" She let out his name in a breathy gasp, "A-Ah~!"  
>He smirked and ran his fingers up her spine, "I'm going to cut you open now," he growled almost playfully, "Right here."<br>"Mmm~" She writhed beneath his touch. Her mind was trying to fight her body, but it couldn't. Her head was swirling. How could something so wrong feel so right? How could something so bad feel so good? How could something so vile make her mind reel in pleasure?  
>It's the drugs. It's the drugs. It's the drugs.<br>Stein ran his scalpel along the line his marker had made, cutting the first protective layers of her skin.  
>"A-A-Ah~!" She threw her head back in ecstasy.<br>It's the drugs. It's the drugs. It's the drugs.  
>He ran his scalpel down her back again, making it completely through the skin.<br>IT'S THE DRUGS MARIE!  
>The door to the lab was kicked in and a man with scarlet hair stood in the entryway holding a gun, "Put the scalpel down, Stein!"<br>The doctor held his hands up and laughed, "Well, well, if it isn't my most favored experiment of all! How have you been, my beloved Spirit?"  
>"Put the scalpel down, or I swear to God I'll shoot you!"<br>Stein laughed once more and stepped around the table, twirling the scalpel in between his fingers, "You're little children weren't near as fun as you were, you know. I never got them to make the same screams or suck me off the way I could make you do it," The doctor laughed and let the scalpel clatter to the floor, "Especially that little daughter of yours. All I could get done with her is slapping her around some."  
>Spirit ground his teeth together before he pulled the trigger. Marie let out a gasp as Stein landed on his back looking up at her.<br>He smirked, "Still not the guts to kill me, hm?"  
>"You, Franken Stein, are nothing more than a monster," Spirit stepped closer, "And you deserve to die here on the ground. You deserve worse than the hell that awaits you," He pulled him up and slammed him to the wall, cuffing his hands behind him, "You're under arrest by the authority of Death City police department. You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to give up that right anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."<br>Spirit pushed the man to the pair of officers at the door, "Take him out of here and get him to a medic. Please send me the other medic in here."  
>"Will do detective Albarn," one of the officers nodded before carrying Stein away.<br>Spirit turned and walked to the table before pulling out his pocket knife and cutting the straps holding Marie to the table loose, "I'm going to get you out of here," a medic walked into the room and began to work on Marie's back, "I'm going to make you safe again."

* * *

><p>AN: Hell, I wrote this so fast. I didn't think this would just pop out of me so suddenly. I really am sorry about the delay. Hopefully the final chapter—the epilogue—will be out very soon. Please Review and let me know what you think, because this chapter seemed quite intense to me. Have faith in me to give you the thirteenth and final installment of Madness.

Love,  
>Tsukiko-Chama<p> 


	13. Epilogue

Chapter 13: Epilogue

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

**One Year Later **

Marie sat up and stretched in her bed. She smiled and walked over to the window before pushing the curtains and window open. The sun poured in through the window. A gentle, warm breeze poured through the open window.

Marie smiled wider. Death City was so lovely today. Marie turned and looked around her small apartment. It was nice here. Working for the detective agency was nice too. She turned and walked towards the bathroom. Time to get ready for work.

Chrona stood outside on the fire escape watering the flowers in the window box she'd hung there. She giggled and ran her fingers over the leaf of the plant.

"How are they doing?"

Chrona turned to see Kid standing just inside the window leading out to the fire escape.

She smiled and fought back a blush, "Okay I think. This one has a new leaf."

Kid slid out the window and came to stand beside her, "They look lovely, Chrona."

"Thank you," she sat her watering can down and met eyes with him.

Thanks to Spirit's powers of persuasion, the two were living in a small apartment downtown. Since Kid was eighteen, he didn't need to be cared for. Chrona, however, did. Spirit informed the department that if they both had jobs they could be self-sustaining and keep up with the apartment themselves. The department had reluctantly agreed, and they'd been together there ever since. Kid juggled work and education while Chrona helped manage a local bookstore. All in all, this life was pretty good.

"Hey, Chrona?"

The pinkette turned, "Hm?"

"I was just wondering," he paused, the faintest blush crossing his cheeks, "I don't have to work tonight. So I was thinking that maybe…after you close up the shop…we could perhaps go on a," he cleared his throat in an effort to keep his blush down, "a date?"

Chrona stood there for a moment before her cheeks became pinker than her hair, "M-Me?"

"You're the only one here, aren't you?" He gave that half-smile she adored.

She stared at him for a moment before giving the tiniest of smiles and setting her hands on the edge of the fire escape to look back at her flowers, "O-Okay."

They stayed like that for a moment before Kid moved closer to ever so gently set his hand atop hers.

"Spirit?" Marie put her hand over the phone as she called over her shoulder to her boss, "Maka's on the phone. She said it's important."

The redhead came bursting from the room, snatching the phone from Marie's hand, "Maka what is it?! What's wrong?!"

Maka paused at the other end before giving a light laugh, "Dad, calm down. Soul and I are okay. I just needed to know if you were alright having pasta for dinner."

Spirit stood in shock for a moment before letting out a sigh and recomposing himself, "That sounds fine. Please be careful when using the stove."

He set the phone down and began shuffling back towards his office, "Crazy kids…"

Marie smiled, "They're wonderful though…"

Spirit paused at the door and turned to look at her, "It's today you know. Stein's execution."

She looked back down at her desk, folding her hands in her lap, "I know."

He came up to her, setting a hand on her shoulder, "None of it was your fault, and you know that. The man is crazy, and he deserves it."

She closed her eyes, "I just don't feel like it'll ever be enough."

"We can't risk putting him in prison for life, he's too smart for that. He'd break out and come after you and the kids."

"I know," she clenched her fists in her lap, "I'll just feel a lot better once it's done and over with."

Tsubaki sat on her knees, hunched over her garden as she worked. She wiped her forehead before adding more of the ripened carrots into her basket. After being found by her brother, she'd moved back home to the small town where she'd been raised. Living with her brother and his family had been peaceful, and it hadn't been very difficult to get a job to where she wasn't employed by a psychopath.

"Tsubaki! Tsubaki!" her brother's three children raced down the dirt road that went past the house, "It's the mail truck! The mail truck!"

Tsubaki smiled and pulled herself up, carrying her basket of freshly picked vegetables with her as she walked to the end of the drive where the mail truck had stopped.

"This is for you, ma'am," the driver held out a box no larger than a book with a letter attached to the top.

"What is it?" she raised her brows as she took the package into her hand."

"I'm not sure," the driver shrugged before driving off, "Have a nice day!"

Tsubaki sat back cross legged in the grass just as the children crowded around her, "What is it? Is it a present? I wanna see!"

She picked up the envelope and turned it over, "It's from Liz."

She gently pulled it open and read the letter aloud:

_Tsubaki,_

_I apologize for not having written in a while, but things have been a bit busy in Death City. Since I turned eighteen, I got a job working at the body shop here in town. It isn't much, but it's still work. I met this guy there…his name is Justin. He listens to music for the most part, but he's really nice once you get to know him. Soul's made a full recovery, with the exception of a few scars, but he'll be alright. He and Maka are living with their dad, and Maka's almost caught up to where her school level should be. Kid and Chrona got an apartment downtown. Right now they've managed to make friends with a cat named Blair, though I don't know how well it'll turn out. Marie got a job at the detective agency, and now she works under Spirit. She should be able to become a detective herself within a few years. So, someone bought Stein's property. In case you're wondering what's in the box, it's something they found and contacted me about it. I thought it'd be best if you had it. Please come back and visit us soon._

_Love,_

_Liz_

"What could it be?" Tsubaki sat the letter down and pulled open the tabs of the box before she froze. Inside sat a bracelet crudely made from the rocks that were around Stein's house. On the middle stone, a black star sat inked in dark pen marks.

Tears welled in her eyes before she pulled the bracelet to her chest, enclosing it in both her hands.

_"Hey, Tsubaki?" Black Star sat just outside her door, speaking though the crack underneath it, "I know you don't want to come out of your room right now. That's okay though. It's going to be okay." A soft scratching noise came from beneath the door, "This is for you. Just don't think you're alone in this, okay?"_

"Black Star," she managed a small smile as tears continued down her cheeks before she slid the bracelet on, "Thank you…"

Marie turned off her desk lamp and gathered her things.

"I could take you there if you want," Spirit said as he locked his office door.

"No," she pulled on her coat, "I can do this by myself. Plus, if you stay too much later, Maka and Soul will get worried."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, "I'll be fine, I promise."

"Justin, are we closing up now?" Liz called over her shoulder.

Sure enough, the blonde sat with his back to her, focusing on changing the tires on the car he was working on.

"Justin, can you even hear me?" she got up and moved closer, picking up her rag to wipe the oil from her hands with.

He continued to remain oblivious to her voice, concentrating on his work.

"JUSTIN!" she screamed, throwing the towel at him hard enough to smack the back of his head.

"Ow!" he groaned, pulling out and ear bud, "What is it, Liz?"

She rolled her eyes as she laughed, "Its closing time."

He looked at the clock before standing up, "Well how about that. It is."

She laughed and grabbed him by his sleeve, "Come on. It's my turn to treat you to dinner."

Marie walked into the building without a word. She scanned her ID card against the pallet before walking into a small, solid white room with a one-way glass window. On the other side of the glass, Stein sat in a chair quietly, looking blankly at the ceiling.

"Ms. Mjolnir," A man in a black suit sat at the corner of the room, "I didn't think you'd be here."

"I have to see this happen for myself," she spoke softly, "I just have to make sure."

"Understood," the man sat back in his chair.

In that moment, Stein looked straight at the glass. His eyes were sharp, almost as if he were looking right through it at her. And then he smirked.

Marie clenched her hand into a fist just before the other man in the room slid the needle into Stein's arm.

And Stein didn't look away from her. Not once.

Not even after his heart stopped beating.

A/N: I just want to thank all of you that read this story. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever written in my life because it's just so far out of my comfort zone. But honestly, I think the fact that is was so far out of my comfort zone is what made it so wonderful. I actually had to try to make this story right. But I honestly don't think it would have ever gotten finished without you're support, so I really want to thank all of you for supporting and reading this story. Also, thank you for putting up with my ridiculously slow updating and not killing me in my sleep for being so slow. If it isn't too much trouble, I'd really appreciate a review, even if you've read the whole thing and still haven't reviewed it because I'd really love to know what you thought. What did you think could have been better? What parts were good as they were? Also, if you want you can PM me if you have any other questions about the story. So thank you all so much for reading this disturbing creation of my mind. Be on the look out for more weirdness from my brain.

I love you guys so much,

Tsukiko-Chama


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